An explosion left at least 301 workers in a coal mine in Soma, in the western province of Manisa. The number of arrests within the investigation climbed to 8.
An explosion left officially 301 workers in a coal mine in Soma, in the western province of Manisa. Here are the confirmed live updates:
May 20, 2014
2:03 pm (GMT+2): Labor and Social Security Minister Faruk Çelik told Cumhuriyet that the main responbility in the Soma Mine Disaster belonged to Energy Minister Taner Yıldız.
"Mine pits are not in my field. Regarding the inspection of mine pits, my ministry can only make inspections. However, the matters regarding pits, licences and procecedures belong to the Energy Ministry," he said.
May 19, 2014
9:16 pm (GMT+2): A court arrested Soma Mining Co top officials Can Gürkan and Ramazan Doğru, increasing the number of arrestees to 8 within the case.
12:08 pm (GMT+2): Turkey's May 19 National Day celebrations have been canceled due to Soma Mine Disaster. President Gül released an official May 19 message commemorating the workers who died in the disaster. PM's May 19 message, on the other hand, didn't mention the disaster.
9:54 am (GMT+2): Following their procedures in Akhisar Prosecutor's Office, 5 suspects have been arrested within the Soma Mine Disaster Case. The court released 15 suspects within judiciary control measures.
May 18, 2014
2:24 pm (GMT+2): Police crackdown on Soma Mining Co administrators and shift supervisors. 15 have been detained.
May 17, 2014
10:58 pm (GMT+2): Police assaulted demonstrators who assembled in downtown Istanbul to protest the Soma Mine Disaster. While the police put two barricades on Istiklal Avenue, CHP deputy was also among those who were blocked by the police.
8:10 pm (GMT+2): Following their judicial and medical procedures, police released advocates who were detained in Soma district.
5:28 (GMT+2): Istanbul Technical University Mining Faculty Administration canceled the academic advisor membership of Alp Gürkan and Ismet Kasapoğlu, owner of Soma Mining Co and TOBB Mining Assembly Chairman respectively, following the demands of ITU students who occupied the faculty.
3:20 pm (GMT+2): It was reported that the last remaining two worker bodies were taken out from the mine with the official death toll climbing to 301.
1:22 pm (GMT+2): Police detained several protestors in Soma district including advocates affiliated with Contemporary Lawyers Association (ÇHD). While the detentions took place outside Educator's Union (Eğitim-Sen) Headquarters, police reportedly handcuffed protestors on the street by using force.
It was reported that 34 protestors were detained and transferred to a gym campus.
On the other hand, Manisa Governor's Office released a statement banning all protests in the area.
"During these sorrowful and sensative days, we are announcing the public that unlawful provocative actions will not be allowed," the statement said.
In addition to that, police allegedly stopped certain vehicle on the intercity highway and IDed passangers.
1:20 pm (GMT+2): Energy Minister Taner Yıldız announced that 485 workers have been saved so far while 299 lost their lives. He also added that rescue teams extinguished a blaze that broke out in the mine as of this morning. Sabah çıkan yangın söndürüldü.
11:46 am (GMT+2): A recent footage [YouTube sourced] showed PM Erdoğan telling a demonstrator "If you boo, then you get a slap" during his visit to Soma district on May 14.
On the same day, PM also found refuge in a local supermarket, allegedly assaulting a demonstrator inside. A new footage also shed light on this incident.
11:36 am (GMT+2): Last night, police reportedly attempted to detain a 10 year old child in the western province of İzmir who was suspected of attending Soma Mine Disaster protestors. While it was claimed that the child was only in Talatpaşa Boulevard for loitering, police changed their decision to detain the child after passers-by protests.
10:00 am (GMT+2): Energy Minister Taner Yıldız made a statement, updating the death toll to 299.
May 16, 2014
5:50 pm (GMT+2): Police asaulted on those who assembled in downtown Soma district to protest the death of 284 workers in the mining disaster.
"Genuine residents of Soma district, stay away from the crowd. The intervention will begin," a police announcement said.
Social media users reported injuries from the incident scene.
3:13 pm (GMT+2):Social media users shared photos of Some district's traffic zone banner with graffiti writing "- 302" in reference to the total number of possible deaths (284 officially declared + 18 still trapped) in the mine disaster.
11:30 am (GMT+2): Soma Mining Co Executive Board Chairman and other company officials held a press conference, claiming that 787 workers were initially trapped underground and they had "no negligence" on the mine disaster.
10:15 am (GMT+2): Energy Minister Yıldız announced the death toll as 284. He also added that there were at most 18 more workers trapped underground. "In sum, we will close this up with losses from 299 to 302.
May 15, 2014
8:10 pm (GMT+2): Energy Minister Yıldız declared the death toll as 283.
5:37 pm (GMT+2): An online petition to urge the Turkish government to sign the International Labor Organization's No.176 "Security and Health in Mines Convention" attracted at least 109.130 signatures.
4:54 pm (GMT+2):A footage allegedly showed PM assaulting a mine worker and a young woman after entering a local supermarket to escape protest in disaster-stricken Soma district.
3:30 pm (GMT+2): On his visit to Soma, President Gül made the following statement:
"We shouldn't be experiencing this sorrow. If these tragedies have been minimalized in developped countries, if they don't happen there anymore, we should also inspect our regulations and take the necessary precautions. Turkey's State Audit Council (DDK) have recommendations on the issue. I am sure they will shed light on the issue, on the regulations."
3:08 pm (GMT+2): Labor Ministry previously released a report on the Mining Work Places Evaluation, saying that only 18 of the 142 inspected work places in 19 different cities don't lack security and health conditions. Ministry announced the 132 page report last year. The report mentions that out of 142 work places 124 of them have deficiencies.
"There are serious deficiencies on the earlier evaluation of risks and preventing them from happening" the report said according to bianet.
2:50 pm (GMT+2): A walk has been organized in the southern province of Antalya to commemorate those who lost their lives in Soma.
Photo credit: Süleyman Elçin / AA
1:47 pm (GMT+2): Rescue teams started to resume their work.
1:42 pm (GMT+2): bianet interviewed Mehmet Torun, former chairman of Mining Engineers, on the urgent measures to prevent future catastrophes in Turkey's mines:
*Subcontracting and corporatization in mining must be stopped immediately.
* The public sector take the lead in the production of coal.
* Working conditions such as salaries and working hours must improve.
* Inspection experts that provide the inside (inspection of the owner) and outside (inspection of the public) inspections must not receive their salaries from the owners.
* Independent funds must be allocated for inspections.
* Inspectors must be independent and qualified. Numbers of inspectors must increase.
* Early warning system must improve and protection rooms must proliferate.
1:30 pm (GMT+2): President Gül arrived to the mine disaster area.
12:05 pm (GMT+2): President Abdullah Gül and Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Cemil Çiçek arrived to Soma district's Akhisar Public Hospital to visit injured workers.
11:46 am (GMT+2): Radio and Television High Council (RTÜK) released a statement, requesting radio and television networks to show "sensibility on public's grief" while broadcasting the work place murder related news.
11:20 am (GMT+2): According to Milliyet newspaper, a flood is taking place in the mine as rescue teams are unable to evict the water out due to power outrage.
11:00 am (GMT+2): A new blaze was reported from the mine, which paused the rescue efforts to evict the carbonmonoxide gas out of the zone.
08:30 am (GMT+2): Energy Minister Yıldız updated the death toll to 282. He also added that no worker has been saved within the past 12 hours.
May 14, 2014
10.20 pm (GMT+2): Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yıldız declared that the official number of deaths at Soma rose to 274. Search and rescue operations paused until 02:00 am.
Yıldız mentioned that more than 500 people are working at the search and rescue operations and they have to think about their health too. Yıldız added that after the relaxation break the search and rescue operations will start again at 02:00 am and continue until the morning. Minister expressed that there are two compelling areas left and they expect the search and rescue operations to end on Thursday.
Yıldız said "We delivered funerals of 196 people to their families. The time is against us". Yıldız added that they will be able to understand with a technical committee report whether the reason of this fire is the transformer or something else after all of the workers is out from the mine.
10:15 pm (GMT+2): Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yıldız and Family and Social Politics Minister Ayşenur İslam answered the questions of the reporters at the coal mine. Relatives of the workers reacted to Yıldız and İslam while waiting for them to come out of the mine.
One of the relatives of the mine workers said “They made a 15 year old child work here” and Minister answered “Who says that, why is it not proven?” Mine worker relative mentioned that “it was written on social media” and Taner Yıldız replied “People that came up with this claim have to prove it. People that claimed a 15 year old child worked here are liars and slanderers. If a 15 year old child worked here, I will resign”.
7:40 pm (GMT+2): Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse demonstrators who assembled in downtown Istanbul to protest the mine disaster in Soma.
6:55 pm (GMT+2): Energy Minister Taner Yıldız announced that the death toll rose to 245 in Soma. He also added that the blaze is still not under control in the mine. "There are estimably 120 more workers inside," he added.
6:00 pm (GMT+2): Confederation of Progressive Labor Unions (DİSK), Confederation of Public Labor Unions (KESK), Turkish Engineers and Architectures Chambers Union (TMMOB), Türk-İş İstanbul Offices Platform and İstanbul Doctors Chamber protested the Soma mine work place murder that killed hundreds of mine workers. Shouting slogans like "Some worker is not alone" "Government resign", hundreds of demonstrators assembled in downtown Istanbul to start a protest march from Tunnel to Galatasaray Square.
5:35 pm (GMT+2): PM Erdoğan reportedly faced protests in Soma district, finding refuge in a local supermarket before his guards drive him out of the scene. Click here to see the video by Radikal newspaper.
4:30 pm (GMT+2): Pop star Rihanna has changed the background picture of her Twitter account in memory of the Soma coal mine disaster victims. Rihanna has over 35 million followers on Twitter.
4:16 pm (GMT +2): Rescue efforts resumed in Soma district with little hope.
Photo credit: Zafer Akpınar / AA
3:57 pm (GMT+2): Confederation of Progressive Workers' Union (DISK), Conferederation of Public Laborers Unions (KESK), Union of Engineer and Architects Chambers (TMMOB) and Turkish Doctors Union (TTB) released a joint statement, announcing a 1 day strike dedicated to the disaster with the slogan "We know who is responsible of the massacre in Soma".
Worker Unions Confederation of Turkey (TÜRK-İŞ) also announced that they "would cease work for one day" tomorrow.
3:55 pm (GMT+2): The number of dead workers climbed to 238.
3:43 pm (GMT+2): Chamber of Electric Engineers (EMO) Chairman Hüseyin Yeşil told bianet that Energy Minister Taner Yıldız and Soma Mining Co's allegations on the "transformer station explosion" didn't represent the truth.
Yeşil claimed that it was required for mine managements to use "ex-proof" material in transformer stations which insulated all possibility of a blast even under conditions of a breakdown.
2:35 pm (GMT+2): Arriving to Soma district, Prime Minister Erdoğan announced that the death toll rose to 232 in the coal mine disaster.
Photo credit: Emin Mengüarslan / AA
12:00 pm (GMT+2): Turkish Doctors Union (TTB) released a statement, saying that they were able to detect at least 122 workers and rescue team members who have been injured due to the coal mine disaster in Soma district.
11:00 am (GMT+2): Soma District Prosecutor's Office have launched an investigation on the mine blast. It was reported that the office was also investigating the allegations of "uncontracted working" in the mine.
10: 33 am (GMT+2): Chamber of Mining Engineers Chairman Ayhan Yüksel told bianet that the incident may have occured due to a coal blast in contrast with the mine owner company's statement.
"These kind of stations don't explode so easily. These allegations have yet to be proved," said Çetin Uygur, former chairman of Underground Mining Workers Union (Yeraltı Maden İş Sendikası).
10:29 am (GMT+2): Prime Minister's Office released a statement, declaring three days of mourning over the mine disaster in Soma.
"Due to the mine disaster in Soma district of Manisa province that caused a nation-wide sorrow, Prime Minister's Office is declaring three days of morning effective by May 13, 2014," the statement said.
According to that, all flags will be flown at half mast across Turkey and its foreign missions. It was also reported that Turkey's May 19 National Day Celebrations have been canceled.
10:24 am (GMT+2): Soma Mining Co, the owner of the aforementioned coal mine in Soma district, has shut down its website www.tilaga.com.tr with a statement written in white on a background in black.
"The incident occured after a blast caused an explosion in the transformer station," the company said in a statement.
08:50 am: One worker has reportedly been saved alived from the mine.
08:40 am: Energy Minister Yıldız said he was unable to give a number on how many workers have left in the mine but added that their hopes were diminishing.
The statement continued as follows: "201 workers have died and we are worried that the toll may increase. 80 workers were wounded. 20 members of the rescue team have also been affected by the gas in the mine. 4 have been gravely wounded.
"Initially, rescue teams have saved 363 miners. The autopsy of 72 dead miners is also complete. We will follow up on the distribution of funerals. Our hopes for rescue is diminishing though. However, we will continue working till the last step. The contractor company has given us a number. We will not announce the number now, but we will let you know as more workers will be retrived [dead or alive]."
05:00 am (GMT +2): Energy Minister Taner Yıldız announced that the incident left 201 workers dead and 80 wounded. "As the times goes by, our worries are growing," he said.
01:58 am: Energy Minister Taner Yıldız announced that at least 151 workers have died in the incident. "Our rescue efforts are underway," he said. While 363 have been rescued, 76 among them have been hospitalized. Moreover, the rescue mission halted due to a new fire in the mines.
Minister Yıldız to journalists: "151 losses and 363 of 738 got out of the mines.
"76 injured (1 gravely) were sent to the hospital. We must get our workers friends out of there until morning. We have no vendetta whatsoever.
"We will make statement true and transparent. Time is against us. We are concerned that the numbers will rise.''
00:30 am (GMT+2): The first official statement came from Ministry of Energy Taner Yıldız: "We will not give out the numbers yet and we must make haste, not you.
"Explosion occurred at 3:00pm local time. Time is against us, we must get our brothers out of there in haste. To be involved correctly, to give out true information. Our purpose is to get our worker brothers safe.
"We are up against carbon monoxide and dioxide poisoning, not metan gas of firedamp explosion.
"Rescue forces are working. We don't give out the number, we will be transparent.
"Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has canceled his trip to Albaina and he will be in Soma."
May 13, 2014
9:30 pm (GMT+2): Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: "Here, in the plenary session of Cameramen Foundation, I wish for good for our passed brother and may their soul rest in peace.
''Rescue works still continue. I hope, that we have the chance to get to rescue our other brothers."
Maden-İş Aegean Representative Tamer Küçükgençay gave out the following technical information:
"We can go into the mines horizontally, not vertically. There are big galleries; no well system. Underground deepness is 150-200 meters. Horizontal gallery length is five kilomemeters. Accident occurred around 3:00 – 3:30pm local time. Rescue teams are extinguishung the fire fire and pushing clean air inside. Rescue efforts started around 8:30pm local time.
Explosion occurred in during the morning shift in the mines, just at the shift change, we don't know why it happened and how many are trapped."
9:00 pm (GMT+2): There is no official statement so far by 9:00pm from either government or company owners. There is no statement for families waiting.
How many are trapped in the mines exactly, how electric grid exploded, how many grids are there and whether oxygen is given inside are questions remaining unanswered.
Due to the fire after the explosion at 3:30pm, big smokes came out.
"We still work to rescue trapped workers'', it is unknown why such statements are done. Union workers and mine professors only make assumption because they don't know about the mines".
It is seen that the loved-ones of workers are waiting.
Soma Kömür A.Ş published a condolence message.
7:20 pm (GMT+2): AKP Parliament Member of Manisa Muzaffer Yurttaş: "4 of 20 workers sent to hospital are dead, 1 gravely injured".
Republican People's Party (CHP) Parliament Member of Manisa Özgür Özel: "30 injured in various hospitals."
7:00 pm (GMT+2): Energy Ministry Taner Yıldız: "We have a serious problem, we will start rescue works and I will be there. Clean air will be provided.
Labor and Social Security Ministry also assigned 3 inspectors to investigate the explosion.
5:30 pm (GMT+2): Several TV channels broke the news that there was a mine explosion in Soma/Kavaklıdere. (BM)
Following the detention of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and more than 100 others, the Turkish lira lost value against all major currencies, with the US dollar and euro reaching record highs.
For the first time, the US dollar surpassed 41 liras, peaking at 41.64, while the euro rose above 44 lira, hitting a record 44.88.
However, the lira later regained some ground, with the dollar falling to 38 lira and the euro dropping to 42 lira. Economists attribute this recovery to intervention by the Turkish Central Bank.
The currency turmoil also triggered a surge in gold prices, with the price of one gram of gold exceeding 4,000 liras for the first time in history.
After the Central Bank’s intervention, gold prices gradually declined, dropping below 3,800 liras per gram.
The Borsa İstanbul stock exchange's BIST 100 index opened the day with a 6.87% decline, starting at 10,060.48 points.
'A hub of labor violations': İstanbul shipyard workers climb crane protesting unpaid wages
The workers highlight unlawful practices by employers, such as misreporting their wages as minimum wage and falsely classifying dismissed workers as "resigned." They claim the government turns a blidn eye to these violations.
Fourteen workers laid off from Kuzey Star Shipyard in İstanbul’s Tuzla district have been protesting since Mar 5 over unpaid wages and benefits. Four of the dismissed workers escalated their protest by climbing a tower crane at the shipyard yesterday, vowing not to come down until they receive their dues.
“We’re not just talking about having money in our pockets—our debts are piling up,” said İsa Balıkçı, one of the protesting workers. “When a person has to go home to their family with their head down, unable to look their children in the eye, they might as well be dead. That’s how we feel now.”
Balıkçı said that their struggle has left them with no other option. “We are in the middle of Ramadan, and the holiday is approaching. Forget about having money in our pockets; we’re drowning in debt. They have made us suffer like this for months," he said.
“We didn’t want to resort to this, but we had no other choice. Any father in Turkey would do anything for his children, and we were left with no alternative. This is our ninth day of protest. We kept going to the shipyard’s gates, but no one would listen to us. At one point, they made a promise, saying, ‘We’ll take care of it, we’re sorry.’ But we soon realized it was all lies. They deceived us.
“We won’t be fooled anymore. Now that we’re up here, we’re not coming down until we get what we’re owed. We can’t return to our children empty-handed. We refuse to sit at an empty table during Ramadan.”
Serkan Aksakal, another worker who climbed the crane, also described the protest as their last resort.
“We were laid off, and now we don’t even have money to buy a loaf of bread,” he said. “It’s not just us, our colleagues are in the same situation. On top of that, our rightful earnings were taken from us. We haven’t been paid our severance, our vacation pay, or our salaries. So we turned to our union for help.”
“There are four of us up here, and 12 more of our colleagues down below supporting us. Others have also come to show solidarity. We are here, and we are determined. We will not leave this crane until we get our money. No force can remove us from here unless we are paid.”
Months of unpaid wages
Kuzey Star Shipyard dismissed workers by claiming there was no more work available. However, the company had already failed to pay wages since December and has made new hirings since then, according to Aksakal.
“The claim that there’s no work is completely fabricated by the employers,” he said. “Whether there is work or not depends entirely on the subcontractor’s decision. For example, there is work inside the shipyard, but the subcontractor can automatically dismiss workers by claiming that the client hasn’t made a request. Over the past eight days of our protest, more than 500 new workers have been hired.”
“Unfortunately, no one seems to care about this. We work long hours under extremely difficult conditions,” he added. “We will not leave the shipyard until we receive what we are owed. My colleagues, our union, and I will stand our ground until we get our rights.”
Tuzla shipyards: A hub of labor violations
The dismissed workers are members of the Shipbuilding, Maritime Transportation, Warehousing, and Dockworkers Union (Limter-İş), affiliated with the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK). Hakkı Demiral, general secretary of Limter-İş, highlighted the widespread labor rights violations in Tuzla’s shipyards, describing the area as a “lawless zone.”
“When people think of Tuzla’s shipyards, the first thing that comes to mind is the lack of regulations,” he said.
According to Demiral, 25,000 workers are employed in the area, with 24,000 of them working under subcontractors. “The real wages of 24,000 subcontracted workers are not properly declared for social security purposes. Their salaries are deliberately misreported under the watch of the government and labor inspectors."
“For instance, a worker earning 60,000 liras is officially recorded as earning only 20,000–22,000 liras, with social security contributions based on the lower amount. Part of the salary is deposited in the bank, while the rest is paid in cash. This system directly impacts workers’ severance pay, pensions, and other entitlements because compensation and retirement benefits are calculated based on declared wages.
“We are constantly fighting against this injustice, but the arbitrary practices of the subcontracting system have pushed workers to their limits."
'Authorities turn a blind eye'
Demiral also revealed that on the fourth day of their protest, workers received their official minimum-wage salaries via bank transfers. However, the remaining unpaid wages, which were previously given to them in cash, were only transferred on the seventh day from a different account.
He stated that union lawyers calculated the workers’ total dues and sent the figures to the company. However, the employer has refused to pay severance and notice compensations to prevent setting a precedent for other workers.
Claiming that the Labor Ministry is aware of these unlawful practices, Demiral said, “These payments made to workers' accounts are completely irregular. The money is disguised as ‘loan repayments’ or ‘cash advances’ when, in reality, it is their rightful salary. If the Ministry of Labor conducted a proper inspection and simply asked any worker on the street, ‘How much do you earn?’ they would get the truth. A worker would say, ‘I make 60,000 lira, but my social security is based on minimum wage.’
"This system is no secret. The government, the Labor Ministry, and the inspectors all see it, yet they turn a blind eye.”
Dsmissed workers labeled as 'resigned’
Limter-İş lawyer Önder Özgür said employers falsely report laid-off workers as having resigned in official records.
“In Turkey, it is the employer who submits the termination notice to the Social Security Institution (SGK). The worker has no say in it,” Özgür explained.
“The law gives employers a lot of freedom in this regard, so they can choose any termination code they want. However, if a worker files a lawsuit, this code can be changed. The same thing happened to the workers at Kuzey Star Shipyard. Even though none of them resigned, they were listed under ‘Code 03’, termination by the worker. This is a common practice in the shipyard industry.” (AD/VK)
bianet muhabiri (Ağustos 2023). Atölye BİA 5-9 Ekim 2022 "Temel Gazetecilik Atölyesi" katılımcısı. Maltepe Üniversitesi Gazetecilik Bölümü'nü bitirdi. Aynı üniversitede, Siyaset Bilimi ve Uluslararası İlişkiler...
bianet muhabiri (Ağustos 2023). Atölye BİA 5-9 Ekim 2022 "Temel Gazetecilik Atölyesi" katılımcısı. Maltepe Üniversitesi Gazetecilik Bölümü'nü bitirdi. Aynı üniversitede, Siyaset Bilimi ve Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü'nde çift anadal yaptı. Halkevleri 12. Halkın Hakları Basın, Sanat ve Dayanışma Ödülleri sahibi.
