Over 200 Dead After Mine Explosion in Turkey, Many Workers Still Trapped
At least 238 miners have been killed and around 200 more still trapped after an underground explosion and fire in Soma, western Turkey on May 13, 2014, Tuesday.
The fire began on 13 May 2014 at a mine owned by Turkey's largest coal producer, Soma Kömür İşletmeleri A.Ş. It was started by an explosion suspected to have been caused by electrical equipment.
The explosion happened during a shift change, making it difficult to clarify the exact numbers of miners trapped inside. According to approximate estimates, 787 workers were inside the mine at the time of the explosion.
A fire is still blazing inside the mine significantly complicating the rescue operation in Soma. As toxic carbon monoxide keeps poisoning the miners trapped inside tunnels, the death toll expected to rise.
Rescue workers pumped fresh air into the mine to help those still stuck inside, as thousands of family members, friends and co-workers gathered outside the mine's entrance, waiting for reunion with their loved ones. The official reports provide information about 93 people rescued with 85 of them treated for their injuries in local hospitals.
Probably the deadliest disaster in Turkey highlighted poor working safety conditions and provoked community outrage. It was learnt that earlier Turkey's opposition parties called for inquiry into previous accidents at the Soma mine.
The Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, declared three days of national mourning, postponed his visit to Albania to travel to the scene of disaster. Rescue work is still ongoing.
PM Erdogan was talking to miners' relatives
Mining accidents are common in Turkey, which has poor safety conditions. In 2012, 78 miners were killed in accidents, and 95 were killed in 2013. In November 2013, hundreds of coal miners protested working conditions by barricading themselves in a mine in Zonguldak.
Source: Legit.ng
