Report: 24 detained in Turkey mine disaster
Print Edition
TWO dozen people, including company executives, have been detained as Turkish officials investigate the mining disaster that killed 301 people, a domestic news agency said yesterday.
The Dogan news agency said Ramazan Dogru, general manager of the mine owned by Soma Holding, and its operations manager, Akin Celik, were among the 24 detained. It said prosecutors were studying charges of negligence and contributing to the deaths of more than one person. They questioned five people yesterday, but it did not specify whom.
Government and company officials have insisted that the mine was inspected regularly and negligence wasn’t a factor in Tuesday’s tragedy. But reacting to widespread public anger, government officials promised to investigate and pledged that any mine officials found to be negligent would be punished.
The Milliyet newspaper said Saturday that a preliminary report by a mine safety expert who inspected the Soma mine suggested that smoldering coal caused the mine’s roof to collapse. The report said the tunnel’s support beams were made of wood, not metal, and the mine had too few carbon monoxide sensors.
Company officials have described safety standards as high, noting the mine had 50 gas sensors and employees were given gas masks.
At a news conference on Friday, Celik said thick smoke from the underground fire killed many miners who weren’t carrying gas masks. Rescuers entering the mine complained of high levels of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
“There is no negligence,” Celik said. “I have been doing this job for 20 years but I have never seen anything like this. We would not want harm to come to a single fingernail of our workers.”
On Saturday, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said rescue workers retrieved the bodies of the last two miners missing in the disaster.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
