By Rebecca Sirull, inside editor
The anguish was palpable as families gathered outside a coal mine in Soma, Turkey awaiting news of their loved ones who had been trapped inside after an electrical transformer exploded on May 13. The resulting fire spread smoke and carbon monoxide through the mine, claiming at least 282 lives. While 383 miners made it out alive, many with serious injuries, there could still be as many as 150 trapped inside.
“As bodies were brought out on stretchers, rescue workers pulled blankets back from the faces of the dead to give jostling crowds of anxious family members a chance to identify victims,” reported the Associated Press. “One elderly man wearing a prayer cap wailed after he recognized one of the dead, and police restrained him from climbing into an ambulance with the body.”
The disaster quickly sparked protests against the government permitting unsafe working conditions and calls for union strikes. Met by police forces wielding water cannons and tear gas, hundreds of people took to the streets in Soma and the capital city of Ankara, shouting “Murderer!” and “Thief!” at Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan was criticized after delivering a speech on Wednesday, where he said, “[explosions] like this in these mines happen all the time. It’s not like these don’t happen elsewhere in the world.” Rather than addressing the issue of mine safety within Turkey, Erdogan listed off examples of past accidents in other countries.
The next day, President Abdullah Gul addressed the crowd, expressing his condolences and discussing the need for additional safety regulations, saying “Whatever is necessary will be done.”
As rescue efforts continue, the families of trapped miners hold out hope that some managed to reach emergency chambers stocked with gas masks and breathable air. However, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said “hopes are diminishing” of rescuing anyone still inside.
With the death toll surpassing 263, this has become the worst mining accident in Turkey’s history.
Photo courtesy Meghan Rutherford, Creative Commons
