Anger swells as mine blast claims 274 lives in Turkey

Thousands of protesters clashed with police in Ankara and Istanbul, accusing government, mining industry of negligence

SOMA: Anger erupted across Turkey on Wednesday as hopes faded for scores of workers trapped in a collapsed mine and the death toll rose to 274, in what has become the country's worst-ever mining disaster.

Thousands of protesters clashed with police in Ankara and Istanbul, accusing the government and mining industry of negligence, as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected claims of government culpability.

"We have witnessed one of the biggest work accidents in our recent history," Erdogan told reporters after visiting the mine in the western town of Soma in Manisa province.

Erdogan said figures remained uncertain but mining operators thought 120 workers were still trapped following Tuesday's explosion, caused by an electrical fault. Reports from rescue workers on the scene suggest the figure could be far higher.

Erdogan said enquiries would be launched into the causes of the disaster, but insisted that "such accidents happen".

He also appeared to downplay the seriousness of the accident, comparing it to other mining disasters elsewhere, saying "204 people died in the UK in 1862 and 361 people in 1864."

"There is something in literature called work accidents."

But hundreds of distraught family and friends gathered near the building where Erdogan gave a press conference were outraged, with some kicking his vehicle and calling for his resignation as he left.

Public anger also erupted on the streets over the accident which had claimed at least 274 lives - most by carbon monoxide poisoning.

Police used tear gas and water canon to disperse between 3,000 and 4,000 protesters in Ankara's downtown Kizilay Square on Wednesday evening.

Riot police also clashed with thousands of protesters in Istanbul who were chanting anti-government slogans as they marched along the city's main shopping street Istiklal.

Earlier in the day, they also used tear gas against around 800 students marching on the energy ministry, and 50 protesters who threw eggs at the mining research directorate in Istanbul, AFP photographers reported.

The disaster risks adding to the political pressure on Erdogan, who faced mass protests last summer and a huge corruption scandal involving his family and key allies in recent months.

"If the claims of negligence at the mine prove true, it will have a political price. Such a development would render corruption allegations targeting Erdogan's government more convincing," Professor Ilter Turan of Istanbul's Bilgi University told AFP.

Three days of national mourning have been declared, while at the scene of the accident, fires and toxic gases were complicating increasingly desperate efforts by 400 rescue workers.

A miner from a different site who joined the effort, Murat Kurkoglu, told AFP: "We will try to save those who are still stuck one by one, but you know very well that there is no more hope. It's finished for them."

Earlier reports said 787 workers were underground when the blast occurred. By late Wednesday, "close to 450" workers had been rescued, according to the mine operator, Soma Komur Inc, but accounts from rescue workers cast doubt over the numbers.

"There are pockets of air, but it's only a glimmer of hope because so far ... it's mostly the dead that we are bringing out," Erdem Bakin, a doctor with the Search and Rescue organisation, told AFP.

"We don't go more than 100 metres from the bottom of the mine. It's impossible to go right to the bottom because of the risk of asphyxiation from the gas."

Bakin said they found the transformer that exploded, triggering the collapse. Those between the transformer and the entrance of the mine -- around 70-80 people -- survived.

"But those who were beyond were taken by the fire and they are all dead," he said.

Harun Unzar, a miner at the site, said: "We are a family and today that family is devastated. We have had very little news and when it does come it's very bad."

Explosions and cave-ins are common in Turkey, particularly in private mines, where safety regulations are often flouted.

Turkey's worst mining accident happened in 1992 when 263 workers were killed in a gas explosion in a mine in Zonguldak.

A lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said it submitted a parliamentary motion 20 days ago to investigate work-related accidents at coal mines in Soma but it was rejected by the government.

The CHP's Manisa deputy Ozgur Ozel told local media: "We receive tip-offs every day that workers' lives are under threat.

"We lawmakers from Manisa are tired of going to miner funerals."

Turkey's ministry of labour and social security said the mine had been inspected eight times in the last four years, most recently on March 17, and was found to comply with safety regulations.

But Oktay Berrin, a miner, said workers were not protected underground.

"There is no security in this mine," he told AFP.

"The unions are just puppets and our management only cares about money."

Mining company Soma Komur said it had taken maximum measures to ensure safety.

"The accident happened despite maximum safety measures and inspections, but we have been able to take prompt action," it said.

France, Germany and the European Union all offered their condolences and assistance.

Turkey's foreign ministry said: "We don't need any international help for now. We have enough equipment."

Soma is a key centre for lignite coal mining and is located around 250 kilometres (150 miles) south of Istanbul.