166 dead, many trapped in Turkish coal mine

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By BERZA SIMSEK and SUZAN FRASER

SOMA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's energy minister has raised the death toll from an explosion and fire at a coal mine in western Turkey to 166. Some 200 people are still believed trapped inside the mine.

Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said early Wednesday that 787 people were working inside at the time of the accident in the coal mine in Soma, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Istanbul.

He says 80 mine workers were injured and at least four of them are in serious condition.
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Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140514/eu-turkey-mining-accident-0e9233aeb9.html

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Medics place an injured miner into an ambulance after an explosion and fire at a coal mine in Soma, in western Turkey, Tuesday, May 13, 2014. An explosion and fire at a coal mine in western Turkey killed at least one miner Tuesday and left up to 300 workers trapped underground, a Turkish official said. Twenty people were rescued from the mine in the town of Soma in Manisa province but one later died in the hospital, Soma administrator Mehmet Bahattin Atci told reporters. The town is 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Istanbul. (AP Photo/Depo Photos)

[Tribalceltic]

1. For all mine workers

[rhett o rick]

3. Yes

[herding cats]

4. And in honor of their families

[Lint Head]

2. Not only are fossil fuels killing the environment the search for it is killing people directly.

[starroute]

5. A lot more according to the Live Updates from Turkey Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=270859743085060&set=a.163064897197879.1073741826.163062643864771&type=1&theater

Several hundred miners have been killed following an explosion near the town of Soma.

An estimated 700-1000 miners were inside at the time of the explosion. Some of them working near the upper gallery have been saved, while the rest of them are largely presumed dead by now.

The mainstream media reported the total death toll as 17 for several hours, even as the bodies kept coming on gurneys during the live broadcast. The figure was subsequently corrected to 151 after announced as so by a government minister, while the real number is estimated to be much higher.

The coal mine at Soma was inspected at least 10 times in the recent years and closed after 66 faults were found, only to be reopened due to political pressure. Some 5000 accidents occured at Soma in 2013 alone, causing 95 deaths. Main opposition party CHP had submitted a motion to demand a parliamentary investigation regarding the deaths at the mine only two weeks ago.

The miners interviewed on TV say they get paid 40 Liras ($19/€14) for a day's work and practically have no social security. The miners also say that the conditions have got far worse since the mines have been privatised, any complaint or incapacity costs them their jobs, and the unions are acting in complicity with the bosses.