Death Toll Rising Following Turkey Coal Mine Disaster

Reuters reported this morning that 238 workers have been found dead so far and hundreds more may be trapped after an explosion and fire at a Turkey coal mine. The disaster draws attention to Turkey’s poor safety record, and has incited anger amongst residents of the town of Soma where the mine is located, according to Reuters.

As quoted in the publication:

Anger over the deadly fire at the mine about 480 km (300 miles) southwest of Istanbul echoed across a country that has seen a decade of rapid economic growth but still suffers from one of the world’s worst workplace safety records. Opponents blamed Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government for ignoring repeated warnings about the safety of the country’s mines.

Fire knocked out power and shut down ventilation shafts and elevators shortly after 3 pm (1200 GMT) on Tuesday. After an all-night rescue effort, emergency workers pumped oxygen into the mine to try to keep those trapped alive. Thousands of family members and co-workers gathered outside the town’s hospital searching for information on their loved ones.

Click here to read the full Reuters article.