Turkey’s Mine Disaster Is Worst in History, Kills Nearly 300, Fury at Leaders
Turkey’s Mine Disaster Is Worst in History, Kills Nearly 300By Anita Li | Mashable
At least 274 people are dead in what has become the worst mining disaster in Turkey’s history.
So far, 363 miners have been rescued, while the fate of 150 others who remain trapped underground is unclear, according to multiple reports. Approximately 787 miners were inside a coal mine in western Turkey when an explosion and fire occurred Tuesday, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said. The mine is located in Soma, a town in the province of Manisa, around 155 miles south of Istanbul.Most of the victims died from carbon-monoxide poisoning, with some miners 1,378 feet deep inside the mine, Yildiz said Tuesday. Rescue workers continued searching for the missing miners Wednesday, and were trying to pump clean air into the mine, while venting out carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, the AP reported. Burials for the victims took place later that day.
Anti-government protests erupted in Soma after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was visiting the town, called the mine disaster "ordinary," the AP reported."There is a thing in literature called ’work accident’ ... It happens in other work places, too," Erdogan, who declared three days of national mourning, told reporters. "It happened here. It’s in its nature. It’s not possible for there to be no accidents in mines. Of course, we were deeply pained by the extent here."
Crowds gathered outside the Soma Municipality building where Erdogan held a press conference, calling on him to resign over the disaster. After leaving the building, Erdogan was forced to flee into a supermarket to evade demonstrators until protests died down. Some protesters threw rocks and fire bombs at riot police, who reportedly responded with tear gas and water cannons. Anti-government protests have also popped up in Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey’s capital.
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Read the full article at: mashable.com
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Turkey coal-mine explosion kills at least 274
From: CBC
Tensions high as hundreds of relatives and miners jostle outside mine waiting for news
Anger and grief boiled over into a violent protest Wednesday in the western Turkish town of Soma, where officials said at least 274 miners died in a coal mine explosion and fire, now the country’s worst mining disaster ever.
Nearly 450 other miners were rescued, the mining company said, but the fate of an unknown number of others remained unclear in one of the world’s deadliest mining disasters in decades.
Tensions were high as hundreds of relatives and miners jostled outside the coal mine waiting for news, countered by a heavy police presence. Rows of women wailed uncontrollably, men knelt sobbing and others just stared in disbelief as rescue workers removed a steady stream of bodies throughout the night and early morning. Others shouted at Turkish officials as they passed by.
In downtown Soma, protesters mostly in their teens and 20s faced off against riot police Wednesday afternoon in front of the ruling NKP party headquarters. Police had gas masks and water cannons.
Many in the crowd expressed anger at Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government. Rocks were thrown at the police, who chased down some of the protesters. Other protesters shouted that Erdogan was a "murderer!" and a "thief!"
Police set up fences and stood guard around Soma state hospital to keep the crowds away from scores of injured miners.
In Istanbul, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the headquarters of the company that owns the mine, Soma Holding. In the capital, Ankara, police dispersed a group who tried to march to the energy ministry to protest the deaths, the Dogan news agency reported.
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Read the full article at: cbc.ca
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Outrage as Turkish PM’s Aide Caught Kicking Grieving Protestor
By Damien McElroy | The Telegraph
Recep Tayyip Erdogan is embroiled in row after an aide was seen kicking a grieving relative during scuffles while visiting the Soma mine disaster
Fury has erupted in Turkey after a close aide to the Recep Tayyip Erdogan brutally assaulted a man thought to be grieving for relatives in the mining town where almost 300 people lost their lives underground.
Mr Erdogan, who has led Turkey for 11 years, was visibly shocked by the hostile reaction in Soma during a visit on Wednesday when he was forced to take refuge at a supermarket.
Video published in Turkey showed scuffles around the prime minister and one of his staff, Yusuf Yerkel, kicking a man being held down by paramilitary police. Mr Yerkel, who was a PhD candidate at Soas in 2010, told BBC Turkish that he would be making a statement about the image on Thursday.
The angry crowds in Soma called Mr Erdogan a murderer and thief and booed strongly.
In his initial remarks after the disaster, which has so far claimed 282 lives, Mr Erdogan had earlier downplayed the disaster, calling mining accidents "ordinary things" that also occur in many other countries. He gave examples of 19th-century mine accidents in Britain.
The remarks revived anger at Mr Erdogan’s failure to tackle the appalling safety record of the Turkish mining industry. When 30 people died in a mining disaster in 2010, Mr Erdogan said: ’Unfortunately, this profession has this in its destiny.”
Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannon at thousands of protesters in the city of Izmir on Thursday, as a 24-hour strike began.
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Read the full article at: telegraph.co.uk
