Turks heckle Erdogan after mining disaster
Updated: 2014-05-15 10:27
(Agencies)
|
|||||||||
People carry the coffin of a miner who died in a fire at a coal mine during his funeral at a cemetery in Soma, a district in Turkey's western province of Manisa May 14, 2014. [Photo/Agencies] |
The disaster highlighted Turkey's poor record on worker safety and drew renewed opposition calls for an inquiry into a drop in safety standards at previously state-run mines. The International Labour Organization ranked the EU candidate nation third worst in the world for worker deaths in 2012.
A pall of smoke hung above the area of the mine and Yildiz said the fire was still burning underground, hampering the rescue operation, which was halted for several hours as the evening wore on to allow exhausted rescuers to recover.
|
Turkey's disaster management agency AFAD said in an email 85 people had been treated for their injuries.
Freezer trucks and a cold storage warehouse usually used for food served as makeshift morgues as hospital facilities overflowed. Medical staff intermittently emerged from the hospital to read the names of survivors being treated inside, with families and fellow workers clamouring for information.
"This isn't a huge city. Everyone has neighbours, relatives or friends injured, dead or still trapped. I am trying to prepare my family for the worst," said Hasan Dogan, 27, watching TV news reports from a canteen set up outside the hospital.
Some 16,000 people from a population of 105,000 in the district of Soma work in the mining industry, according to Erkan Akcay, a local opposition politician. The district is no stranger to tragedies, but never before on this scale.
The words "For those who give a life for a handful of coal" are engraved on the entrance wall to the emergency clinic.
Teams of psychiatrists were being pulled together to counsel the families of victims. Paramilitary police guarded the entrance to the mine to keep distressed relatives at a safe distance, as residents offered soup, water and bread.
"They haven't brought any ambulances in such a long time that we've started to lose hope," said Hatice Ersoy, 43, a woman in a headscarf sitting on a pavement outside the hospital.
- 274 dead in Turkey's worst-ever mine disaster
- ICBC taps new business in Turkey
- Turkey expects China's investment in high speed rail
- Turkey starts local elections amid tight security measures
- Turkey labels YouTube leak a 'plot'
- Turkey shoots down Syrian plane
- 2×600 MW supercritical coal-fired units of EPEN Power Station in Turkey
- PLA chief pays visit to US
- Older parents work to have children after losing their only child
- Finding the best way to teach Chinese
- Forum trends: Some "bad" habits I've picked up in China
- Chinese man's killing reflects'dangerous'neighborhood
- 'Red Chamber' play aims to put audience asleep
- Wuhan high-tech zone ready for investors, students
- Rio Confucius Institute is blossoming
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Missing 'bracelet' sets safety alarm bells ringing |
Hidden dangers, ruined lives |
Meeting mummy in the valley of the giants |
The city that's not forbidden, just avoided |
Saying goodbye to a life of grime |
Coming to a small screen near you |
Today's Top News
Islamic leaders join efforts against extremism
Xi: There is no gene for invasion in our blood
July elections in Thailand 'unlikely' amid crisis
China: US must be objective about Asia tensions
Big piece of first Chinese jetliner completed
Protecting environment tops public concerns in poll
2 Chinese killed in Vietnam riots
China, Russia to sign gas deal
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |