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| Public Discontent Rises as Families Gather to Bury Victims of Turkish Mine Disaster | Public Discontent Rises as Families Gather to Bury Victims of Turkish Mine Disaster |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| SOMA, Turkey — With passport-size photographs of their loved ones fastened to their chests, family members of men killed in Turkey’s worst mining accident shuffled toward the cemetery on Thursday in a mourning ritual repeated for hours. At least 30 miners were buried as gravediggers toiled to make room for the bodies of many men still trapped underground. | SOMA, Turkey — With passport-size photographs of their loved ones fastened to their chests, family members of men killed in Turkey’s worst mining accident shuffled toward the cemetery on Thursday in a mourning ritual repeated for hours. At least 30 miners were buried as gravediggers toiled to make room for the bodies of many men still trapped underground. |
| Two days after a suspected explosion sparked a fire in the Soma coal mine, this town was racked with grief over the 284 deaths confirmed so far, with frustration at the slow pace of recovering bodies and with anger at government officials who seemed incapable of offering comfort or answers. | Two days after a suspected explosion sparked a fire in the Soma coal mine, this town was racked with grief over the 284 deaths confirmed so far, with frustration at the slow pace of recovering bodies and with anger at government officials who seemed incapable of offering comfort or answers. |
| Eight more bodies were retrieved Thursday, with at least 140 miners believed to be trapped still. Officials and mine workers said there was little chance that the remaining men, stuck in chambers deep underground, had survived. | |
| On Thursday, five labor unions called for a one-day nationwide strike, demanding better health and safety standards for miners. They also said that mine inspectors should be drawn from labor unions and include independent experts not employed by the mining corporations. The mine at Soma was formerly state-run but was privatized almost a decade ago. | On Thursday, five labor unions called for a one-day nationwide strike, demanding better health and safety standards for miners. They also said that mine inspectors should be drawn from labor unions and include independent experts not employed by the mining corporations. The mine at Soma was formerly state-run but was privatized almost a decade ago. |
| In this mining town about 75 miles northeast of the Aegean port city of Izmir, thousands of residents work in the region’s coal mines, magnifying the scale of the disaster. Public discontent has swelled as the victims’ families have demanded answers from the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. | In this mining town about 75 miles northeast of the Aegean port city of Izmir, thousands of residents work in the region’s coal mines, magnifying the scale of the disaster. Public discontent has swelled as the victims’ families have demanded answers from the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. |
| Mr. Erdogan was forced to take refuge at a supermarket during his visit here on Wednesday after angry crowds scuffled with the police and called the prime minister a murderer and a thief. Turkish newspapers published a photograph on Thursday of one of Mr. Erdogan’s aides kicking a protester who was being held on the ground by police special forces during the protests. | |
| The aide, Yusuf Yerkel, later apologized for failing to “restrain myself despite all the provocations, insults and attacks I was subjected to,” according to the semiofficial Anadolu News Agency. | The aide, Yusuf Yerkel, later apologized for failing to “restrain myself despite all the provocations, insults and attacks I was subjected to,” according to the semiofficial Anadolu News Agency. |
| 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,” said Umar Karatepe, a spokesman for the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey. He said protests would continue until the energy minister, Taner Yildiz, resigned and the government attended to the miners’ immediate concerns. | 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,” said Umar Karatepe, a spokesman for the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey. He said protests would continue until the energy minister, Taner Yildiz, resigned and the government attended to the miners’ immediate concerns. |
| Mine workers have harshly criticized the Soma mining company since the accident, accusing it of lax safety standards. In a statement on Thursday, the company said that it had been a model for worker safety, and that the mine had been inspected every six months. The last inspection was in March, the company said. | Mine workers have harshly criticized the Soma mining company since the accident, accusing it of lax safety standards. In a statement on Thursday, the company said that it had been a model for worker safety, and that the mine had been inspected every six months. The last inspection was in March, the company said. |
| The death toll has now surpassed that of a mine accident on the Black Sea in 1992 that killed 263 workers. | The death toll has now surpassed that of a mine accident on the Black Sea in 1992 that killed 263 workers. |
| Late Thursday, a miner in Soma said that rescue workers had partly suppressed the fire that had been blocking access to several chambers in the mine, allowing for the removal of two bodies. It was unclear if they were added to the official death toll. | Late Thursday, a miner in Soma said that rescue workers had partly suppressed the fire that had been blocking access to several chambers in the mine, allowing for the removal of two bodies. It was unclear if they were added to the official death toll. |
| Outside, one family waited anxiously for any news about Mustafa Korkmaz, a 31-year-old miner who was still missing. His brother, Fatih Korkmaz, described a harrowing ordeal as they simply tried to confirm that Mr. Korkmaz had been working during the accident — a common complaint among the victims’ families. | |
| The family members had received no help from officials, they said, so they searched the administrative offices of the mine, looking for a registration card that Mr. Korkmaz would have had to surrender to receive a headlamp for his shift. | The family members had received no help from officials, they said, so they searched the administrative offices of the mine, looking for a registration card that Mr. Korkmaz would have had to surrender to receive a headlamp for his shift. |
| “We were devastated to see that his card was still there, which meant he was inside,” his brother said. | “We were devastated to see that his card was still there, which meant he was inside,” his brother said. |
| At the entrance to the municipal cemetery in Soma on Thursday, with the smell of dead bodies in the air, volunteers passed out Turkish delights and other refreshments, a customary duty to funeral guests. | At the entrance to the municipal cemetery in Soma on Thursday, with the smell of dead bodies in the air, volunteers passed out Turkish delights and other refreshments, a customary duty to funeral guests. |
| A portion of the cemetery that had been overgrown was hastily prepared to receive the victims, with workers digging the graves in long, parallel lines. | A portion of the cemetery that had been overgrown was hastily prepared to receive the victims, with workers digging the graves in long, parallel lines. |
| Many of the relatives, overwhelmed by grief and the crowds, could manage only the sparest details about the miners’ lives: One had just secured a loan and bought a house, and another was about to retire. The families spoke at greater length about the thankless work in the mine, the long hours, the risk and the low wages. | Many of the relatives, overwhelmed by grief and the crowds, could manage only the sparest details about the miners’ lives: One had just secured a loan and bought a house, and another was about to retire. The families spoke at greater length about the thankless work in the mine, the long hours, the risk and the low wages. |
| A family of three prayed over the fresh grave of a man named Muhammet Aslancan. A woman in overalls, one of dozens of volunteers, was herself overcome. She sat on a curb sobbing as three coffins arrived, before standing up again to pick up trash. | A family of three prayed over the fresh grave of a man named Muhammet Aslancan. A woman in overalls, one of dozens of volunteers, was herself overcome. She sat on a curb sobbing as three coffins arrived, before standing up again to pick up trash. |
| Religious leaders shouted directions over loudspeakers. “Please do not block the road,” one said. “Many more bodies are on the way.” | Religious leaders shouted directions over loudspeakers. “Please do not block the road,” one said. “Many more bodies are on the way.” |
| Many of the mourners were like Ismail Atmaca, a 22-year old miner, who said the dead included a friend and two distant relatives. | Many of the mourners were like Ismail Atmaca, a 22-year old miner, who said the dead included a friend and two distant relatives. |
| “I have never seen such a thing,” said Mr. Atmaca, who has lived in Soma his whole life and has worked in the mine for four years. “I am considering quitting for good.” | “I have never seen such a thing,” said Mr. Atmaca, who has lived in Soma his whole life and has worked in the mine for four years. “I am considering quitting for good.” |
| Sercan Kemer Kuran, 31, said he had recovered the body of a childhood friend, Emin Kurt, from the mine on Wednesday. He seethed with anger at Mr. Erdogan, accusing him of abetting what he said was the mine’s negligent administration. | Sercan Kemer Kuran, 31, said he had recovered the body of a childhood friend, Emin Kurt, from the mine on Wednesday. He seethed with anger at Mr. Erdogan, accusing him of abetting what he said was the mine’s negligent administration. |
| “We have the bodies of our friends, we have funerals,” he said. “We are worth absolutely nothing in the eyes of our government.” | “We have the bodies of our friends, we have funerals,” he said. “We are worth absolutely nothing in the eyes of our government.” |
| For others, the connections to the victims were too numerous to count. | For others, the connections to the victims were too numerous to count. |
| “All of them are my brothers,” said Halit Yilmaz, 30, who stood near a roundabout by the entrance to the burial plot, so full of people that it resembled a busy town square. | |
| “My family is a mining family, from my grandfather,” he said. “We are a mining community. At the moment, all I can think of is my friends trapped inside.” | “My family is a mining family, from my grandfather,” he said. “We are a mining community. At the moment, all I can think of is my friends trapped inside.” |