Turkey's reputation on labor standards took another blow on Tuesday as a mine collapsed near the town of Ermenek, close to the country's Mediterranean coast. 18 miners remain trapped by accumulated water that surged through the gallery where they were working.

Turkey's energy and transportation ministers, Taner Yildiz and Lufti Elvan, immediately left to oversee the rescue operation, which has begun pumping water out of three areas of the mine in an attempt to rescue the stranded miners.

Sahin Uyar, an official at the privately owned Has Sekerler mine, told Turkish news agency NTV that the men were trapped about 300 meters (330 yards) underground. He added that the rescue crews had not managed to make contact with the miners.

Tuesday's incident highlights once again the superficial government inspections and low safety standards in Turkey's mines. President (then Prime Minister) Recep Erdogan's government came under fire in May for the worst mining disaster in the nation's history, when 301 workers lost their lives in a fire that broke out in a mine in the western town of Soma.

Similar concerns have been raised in Turkey over the working and safety standards in the construction industry and at shipyards.

es/mg (AP, Reuters)