A Turkish miner at the entrance of the coal mine in Soma, Turkey, early Saturday, May 17, 2014. Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Saturday that crews had found more bodies overnight, raising the death toll to 301, but a new fire was hampering efforts to reach the one or two workers still missing. He said 485 miners escaped or were rescued.
Image Credit: AP Photo/Emre Tazegul
May 18, 2014 - 1:03 PM
ISTANBUL - Two dozen people, including company executives, have been detained as Turkish officials investigate the mining disaster that killed 301 people, a domestic news agency reported Sunday.
The Dogan news agency said Ramazan Dogru, general manager of the mine owned by Soma Holding, and its operations manager, Akin Celik, were among the 24 detained. It said prosecutors were weighing charges of negligence and contributing to the deaths of more than one person. They questioned five people Sunday, but Dogan did not specify whom.
Government and company officials have insisted that the mine was inspected regularly and negligence wasn't a factor in Tuesday's tragedy. But reacting to widespread public anger, government officials promised to investigate and pledged that any mine officials found to be negligent would be punished.
The Milliyet newspaper said Saturday that a preliminary report by a mine safety expert who inspected the Soma mine suggested that smoldering coal caused the mine's roof to collapse. The report said the tunnel's support beams were made of wood, not metal, and the mine had too few carbon monoxide sensors.
Company officials have described safety standards as high, noting that the mine contained 50 gas sensors and employees were provided with gas masks.
At a news conference Friday, Celik said thick smoke from the underground fire killed many miners who weren't carrying gas masks. Rescue workers entering the mine complained of high levels of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
"There is no negligence," Celik said. "I have been doing this job for 20 years but I have never seen anything like this. We would not want harm to come to a single fingernail of our workers."
On Saturday, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said rescue workers retrieved the bodies of the last two miners missing in the disaster, putting the death toll at 301. Authorities then sealed the mine entrance with bricks.
Supporters of Besiktas stand black flags to express their condolences for the victims of Soma mine accident before their Turkish League match in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, May 17, 2014.
Image Credit: AP Photo
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News from © The Associated Press, 2014