TODAY’S ZAMAN/ ISTANBUL,
A recent explosion in a coal mine in the western province of Manisa that left at least 283 dead and hundreds of miners trapped underground on Wednesday has sparked widespread public anger in Turkey as various demonstrations, strikes and commemorations are being held across the country.
At least 282 workers at a coal mine in the district of Soma were killed in a disaster that followed an explosion and fire at a power distribution unit on Tuesday. Most deaths were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. Some 150 others are believed to still be trapped deep underground in smoldering tunnels filled with toxic gases, and hopes are fading to save them. The incident is the worst such disaster in Turkish history.
As rescuers pulled dead bodies from the site and hopes dimmed for another 100 workers still believed to be trapped inside, anger swept across the country.
Furious residents broke windows at the local government offices in Soma on Wednesday, heckled Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan when he visited the site and jostled his entourage. Pockets of protests erupted in İstanbul and the capital Ankara.
Miners in Zonguldak held a commemoration ceremony for miners killed in the Soma mine blast on Tuesday. Members of civil society organizations, representatives of political parties and university students were also in attendance. The group, consisting of 2,000 persons, shouted the slogans “We don’t want to die” and “No to subcontractors.” The group also stood in silent homage for the killed miners.