Three charged over Soma mine disaster in Turkey

A Turkish court has charged three people with manslaughter and arrested 22 others in connection with the Soma mine disaster that killed 301 people and sparked countrywide protests against the government, local media reported on Sunday.

“25 people have been taken, detained and three of them have been charged with manslaughter,” prosecutor Bekir Sahiner told reporters on Sunday.

The Dogan news agency, a locally based news-service, reported on Sunday that operating manager Akin Celik and engineers Yalcin Erdogan and Ertan Ersoy were among those charged. All are employees of the Soma Coal Mining Company who operated the mine, and the company’s security chief Yasin Kurnaz remains in custody undergoing questioning.

Rescue operations came to an end on Saturday after the bodies of the last two trapped miners were retrieved following the country’s worst ever industrial disaster, with an investigation now underway to look into the fire and explosion that it’s been reported were caused by an electrical fault at the privately run mine.

Prosecutor Sahiner denied reports an electrical fault was behind the disaster and told reporters a preliminary investigation had “suggested the fire could have been caused by coal heating up after coming into contact with air”, which could have caused a large amount of carbon monoxide to fill the mine.

Local daily Milliyet has claimed to have seen the preliminary report, which it said noted several safety violations in the mine, including a shortage of carbon monoxide detectors and ceilings made of wood instead of metal.

The disaster has led to widespread protests against the government, including in Soma where all demonstrations have now been banned and checkpoints set up on main roads leading in and out of the town.

At least 36 people, including eight lawyers, were arrested on Saturday after they attempted to make a statement in relation to the disaster, with some beaten and injured by the police according to the AFP.

Protests in the capital Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir have seen police firing tear gas and water cannon at crowds.

A total of 787 people were inside the mine when the blast hit, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said, with most of the 301 victims dying of carbon monoxide poisoning.

“I was very sad when I came here and I am still very sad,” Yildaz told reporters before leaving Soma on Sunday, pledging support for the stricken families.

Local media have reported the government are drawing up plans to provide the miners’ families with a monthly payment and will pledge to employ one member of each family in the public sector if they request to do so.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been accused of being insensitive in his response to the disaster when he said mining accidents are in “the nature of the business”, a comment that sparked protests accusing him of indifference to the plight of the families.

Erdogan has faced increased criticism after video footage allegedly showed him slapping a protestor who he is accused of shouting an anti-Israel slur at during his visit to Soma. Photos showing one of his aides kicking a protester have done little to dampen protests against the government.

The incident has raised political pressure on Erdogan, who is widely expected to launch a bid for the presidency in August.