Turkey mine disaster death toll disputed by furious locals

The final death toll from Turkey's mine disaster will likely be around 300, government officials have said, though furious locals say the authorities are covering up far greater loss of life.According to the latest official numbers, the number killed in Monday's explosion and fire at the mine in western Turkey stands at 284. The energy minister, Taner Yildiz, said on Friday that 18 miners were still missing.But one miner who works at the pit in Soma who wished to remain anonymous sdisputed the energy minister's claim: "This is disgraceful, an incredible lie. They are trying to cover up the exact numbers of the accident. I have been down there. There are more than 18 bodies still trapped in the mine."Meanwhile, opposition parties, unions and human rights groups have called for an investigation into the cause of the accident and for those responsible to be held accountable."It is sad that Turkey is still number one in Europe when it comes to work accidents," said Tamer Kücükgencay, the chairman of the regional miners' union. "This mine was constantly inspected and certified as safe. The investigations into who is responsible for this accident has to start with those inspectors."Yildiz said that if negligence was found to be the cause of the disaster, then prosecutions would follow.In a first press conference since the accident four days ago, Akin Çelik, the operating manager of the Soma Coal Mining Company, denied responsibility. He said: "There was no negligence on our side. I have worked in mines for 20 years, and I did not witness such an incident."Alp Gürkan, the company's owner, claimed it had invested a lot of resources to ensure the safety of workers. "We have spent our income to improve working conditions to avoid possible accidents," he said.However, previous reports contradict company officials' claims. According to Turkish media, a 2010 report by the Turkish Chamber of Architects and Engineers (TMMOB) warned of major safety deficiencies in the Soma mines. Ventilation systems, pre-warning mechanisms and faulty wall supports all presented a serious danger to workers' safety, the report stated."No production should be made before the necessary research has been completed. Carrying out production with the lack of experience might lead to disaster," the TMMOB report warned.Human rights groups harshly criticised what they called the haphazard attitude of both the Turkish government and the mining operator."This was a tragedy that should have been avoided. The long history of deaths in mines in Turkey raises chilling questions over workers' safety. The fact that the government rejected recent calls by parliamentarians to investigate serious work-related accidents is nothing short of shocking. They are playing with people's lives," said Andrew Gardner, Turkey researcher at Amnesty International.(theguardian.com)Bakudaily.az