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| Death Toll Mounts in Turkish Mine Disaster, and So Does Political Fallout | Death Toll Mounts in Turkish Mine Disaster, and So Does Political Fallout |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| SOMA, Turkey — As the death toll from Turkey’s worst mining accident mounted, labor leaders on Thursday called for a one-day strike, and a potentially embarrassing image said to show an aide to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan kicking a protester deepened the political fallout from the disaster. | |
| Demonstrations had already broken out on Wednesday in Ankara, the capital, and in Istanbul, as public displeasure surfaced over poor safety standards at the mine and a lack of official information about events since Tuesday, when an explosion ignited underground fires. On Thursday, the police fired water cannons to disperse crowds of demonstrators in the Aegean port city of Izmir, some 75 miles southwest of here. | Demonstrations had already broken out on Wednesday in Ankara, the capital, and in Istanbul, as public displeasure surfaced over poor safety standards at the mine and a lack of official information about events since Tuesday, when an explosion ignited underground fires. On Thursday, the police fired water cannons to disperse crowds of demonstrators in the Aegean port city of Izmir, some 75 miles southwest of here. |
| Rescue workers, meanwhile, struggled to locate scores of coal miners still unaccounted for but officials said hopes for finding those still trapped were fading. The official death toll increased overnight to 282 as eight more bodies were recovered, surpassing the grim tally from a mine accident on the Black Sea in 1992 that killed 263 workers. | Rescue workers, meanwhile, struggled to locate scores of coal miners still unaccounted for but officials said hopes for finding those still trapped were fading. The official death toll increased overnight to 282 as eight more bodies were recovered, surpassing the grim tally from a mine accident on the Black Sea in 1992 that killed 263 workers. |
| Such was the blend of outrage and grief among survivors and relatives that Mr. Erdogan, who is expected to soon announce his candidacy for presidential elections in August, was forced to take refuge at a supermarket during a visit to this town near the stricken mine on Wednesday. Angry crowds called him a murderer and a thief and clashed with the police, The Associated Press reported. | Such was the blend of outrage and grief among survivors and relatives that Mr. Erdogan, who is expected to soon announce his candidacy for presidential elections in August, was forced to take refuge at a supermarket during a visit to this town near the stricken mine on Wednesday. Angry crowds called him a murderer and a thief and clashed with the police, The Associated Press reported. |
| Compounding the political repercussions, the Turkish newspapers Cumhuriyet, Milliyet and others on Thursday printed photographs that they said were of an Erdogan aide kicking a protester who was on the ground and being held by special police forces during the scuffles. The papers identified the aide as Yusuf Yerkel. | Compounding the political repercussions, the Turkish newspapers Cumhuriyet, Milliyet and others on Thursday printed photographs that they said were of an Erdogan aide kicking a protester who was on the ground and being held by special police forces during the scuffles. The papers identified the aide as Yusuf Yerkel. |
| While the images could not immediately be independently verified, they soon reached a wide audience on Twitter and elsewhere, recalling earlier disputes when the authorities have taken issue with social media sites. | While the images could not immediately be independently verified, they soon reached a wide audience on Twitter and elsewhere, recalling earlier disputes when the authorities have taken issue with social media sites. |
| Mr. Erdogan has called Twitter “the worst menace to society,” a tool of foreign conspirators and a tax evader. In March, he ordered the site blocked in Turkey, but a court ordered that it be switched back on. The controversy arose from a graft inquiry targeting Mr. Erdogan and his inner circle. Mr. Erdogan has purged thousands of police officers and prosecutors, but that has not stopped a series of leaks of wiretapped recordings relating to the case from appearing on social media sites such as Twitter and YouTube. | Mr. Erdogan has called Twitter “the worst menace to society,” a tool of foreign conspirators and a tax evader. In March, he ordered the site blocked in Turkey, but a court ordered that it be switched back on. The controversy arose from a graft inquiry targeting Mr. Erdogan and his inner circle. Mr. Erdogan has purged thousands of police officers and prosecutors, but that has not stopped a series of leaks of wiretapped recordings relating to the case from appearing on social media sites such as Twitter and YouTube. |
| Striking a more conciliatory tone at the mine on Thursday, President Abdullah Gul told mourners and relatives, “The pain is everybody’s.” But one person called out to him that the presence of his security detail was itself obstructing rescue efforts, news reports said. | Striking a more conciliatory tone at the mine on Thursday, President Abdullah Gul told mourners and relatives, “The pain is everybody’s.” But one person called out to him that the presence of his security detail was itself obstructing rescue efforts, news reports said. |
| Public discontent has deepened as victims’ families demand answers about what happened at the coal mine. | Public discontent has deepened as victims’ families demand answers about what happened at the coal mine. |
| Five labor unions called for a one-day nationwide strike on Thursday, demanding better health and safety standards for miners. They also said that mine inspectors should be drawn from labor unions and that they should include independent experts not employed by the mining corporations. The mine at Soma was formerly state-owned but had been leased to a private company, news reports said. | Five labor unions called for a one-day nationwide strike on Thursday, demanding better health and safety standards for miners. They also said that mine inspectors should be drawn from labor unions and that they should include independent experts not employed by the mining corporations. The mine at Soma was formerly state-owned but had been leased to a private company, news reports said. |
| “Miners suffer long working hours, have no occupational safety or social security, and when most of them are unregistered, they are part of an unregistered economy,” said Umar Karatepe, a spokesman for the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey. | “Miners suffer long working hours, have no occupational safety or social security, and when most of them are unregistered, they are part of an unregistered economy,” said Umar Karatepe, a spokesman for the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey. |
| Mr. Karatepe said the privatization of mines had led to a sharp increase in accidents “because profit is always more valuable than miners’ lives in the private sector.” He said protests would continue until the energy minister, Taner Yildiz, resigned and the government attended to the miners’ immediate concerns. | Mr. Karatepe said the privatization of mines had led to a sharp increase in accidents “because profit is always more valuable than miners’ lives in the private sector.” He said protests would continue until the energy minister, Taner Yildiz, resigned and the government attended to the miners’ immediate concerns. |
| Many relatives of the miners have complained about a lack of information from the government and from local emergency agencies. “No official came here to talk to us, explain what’s going on,” the aunt of a 25-year-old miner said on Wednesday. | Many relatives of the miners have complained about a lack of information from the government and from local emergency agencies. “No official came here to talk to us, explain what’s going on,” the aunt of a 25-year-old miner said on Wednesday. |
| The government’s emergency center said on Thursday that 217 of the 282 bodies recovered so far had been handed over to families for burial. The funerals are likely to intensify the anger provoked by the disaster. | The government’s emergency center said on Thursday that 217 of the 282 bodies recovered so far had been handed over to families for burial. The funerals are likely to intensify the anger provoked by the disaster. |
| The number of people still trapped in the mine is unclear and rescue efforts have been slowed because of the risk of gas explosions and continuing fires underground, according to an official in the prime minister’s office, who spoke on the condition anonymity under departmental rules. | The number of people still trapped in the mine is unclear and rescue efforts have been slowed because of the risk of gas explosions and continuing fires underground, according to an official in the prime minister’s office, who spoke on the condition anonymity under departmental rules. |
| On three occasions, the dangers forced the authorities to suspend attempts to bring more bodies to the surface, the official said. “Imagine the mine as a huge nest of coal, which is burning quietly and can be put out only if pressurized water is pumped into all galleries,” the official said. | On three occasions, the dangers forced the authorities to suspend attempts to bring more bodies to the surface, the official said. “Imagine the mine as a huge nest of coal, which is burning quietly and can be put out only if pressurized water is pumped into all galleries,” the official said. |
| The prime minister’s office estimated on Thursday that around 120 bodies remained to be recovered, but some miners said that the figure could be more than 200. | The prime minister’s office estimated on Thursday that around 120 bodies remained to be recovered, but some miners said that the figure could be more than 200. |