Well disaster in Kahramanmaraş: Rescuer Tekin also succumbed to methane gas

In the Kuzucak neighborhood of Dulkadiroğlu district in Kahramanmaraş, 52-year-old Gurbet Esenceli collapsed inside an 8-meter-deep water well entered to clean it during the evening hours. Before colleagues waiting outside could intervene, Mehmet Tekin descended into the well and immediately lost consciousness.

Following a report, health, gendarmerie, firefighting, and AFAD teams were dispatched to the scene. AFAD and firefighting personnel detected methane gas in the well; firefighters wearing specialist masks entered and brought both individuals out. Health teams confirmed that Esenceli and Tekin had died. The bodies were taken to the Kahramanmaraş Forensic Medicine Institution morgue for autopsy, and an investigation was launched.

Closed, deep water wells — particularly those left unused for extended periods — accumulate methane and carbon dioxide from the decomposition of organic matter. Such well accidents recur every year in Turkey: in 2023, two farm workers lost their lives in a similar methane gas incident in Konya. Experts continue to warn that confined spaces must not be entered without first ensuring ventilation and conducting gas measurements.