Showing posts with label Mining accident. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mining accident. Show all posts

Friday, May 23, 2014

"The 'Expendables" - At which moment can you talk of 'Criminal negligence' at the Soma mine?


"The 'Expendables" -  At which moment can you talk of 'Criminal negligence' at the Soma mine?HT: TodaysZaman.

The gas masks given to workers in a coal mine in Soma, a district of western Manisa province, where a tragic explosion and blaze killed 301 people last week, were produced in 1993, and their filters had expired years before the disastrous accident, according to miners.


The gas masks handed out to miners in Soma were produced in China in 1993, and their filters expired several years ago, according to the rescued miners. While modern gas masks have the capacity to provide oxygen for up to two hours, these masks were too old to function.


Barış Kılıç, a miner who was saved from the accident, spoke to reporters on Wednesday, showing them a gas mask given to miners by Soma Kömür İşletmeleri A.Ş. (Soma Mining Company), which operates the mine. “I have worked for this mine for nine years. All workers were given these masks. We did not know how to operate them when they first gave us the gas masks,” Kılıç said, adding that miners were given a lecture on how to operate the gas masks later.

The gas masks date back to 1993. There is Chinese writing and numbers on the gas masks. We do not know what it means. Most of the masks are moldy. It is very hard to use the masks,” the miner said.Read the full story here.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Worker at the Soma coal mine testifies: ‘Slavery-like conditions’ in Soma mine.



Worker at the Soma coal mine testifies: ‘Slavery-like conditions’ in Soma mine.(HD).

Statements from a worker at the Soma coal mine, which became a death trap for 301 miners last week, have raised more questions about work conditions at the site, as even the most basic needs of employees are apparently not met during work hours.

“There are no defined breaks for meals,” said Sefa Köken during an interview on private broadcaster CNN Türk, adding that only group leaders decided when to eat and that miners had to bring their own food and water.

Köken added that no sanitary facilities were installed at mines and that every miner stayed underground for eight hours non-stop.

God gives them strength and they have to stand such conditions. Orders, pressure and slavery is common at the mines, as well as insulting. They always want more,” he said.

Köken confirmed claims that miners were taken to local rallies of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to act as supporters.Everyone goes to work in the morning. Then they tell you to stop and go to the AKP meeting. They say you will get your salary. Everyone is forced to applaud and wave [party] flags,” he said.

These people have no other profession than mining. This is why they fear … Everybody has debts,” he said.

Köken claimed that he was fired from another mine because he testified about poor conditions after a deadly accident in 2007.

Pro-AKP "paper" Akit: " Soma boss' son-in-law is a JEW, Jews own 25 percent share in mine."


Pro-AKP "paper" Akit: "Soma boss' son-in-law is a JEW, Jews own 25 percent share in mine." (Akit).[GoogleTranslate]

"AK Party confidential partners have" shaped distortions posed the Soma Coal Inc. 's 20 percent of the registered abroad Saffir Investments and Tilag Investments companies was understood to be. Tragedy that has the mine operating Soma Inc. from the company's partnership structure when viewed Alp Gürkan son Can Gürkan 's 25 percent, Alp Gürkan 17 percent, Müzeyyen spoiled Asafra valve 's 5 percent individual stocks there. Shares albeit less than one in ten; Ismet Kasapoğlu and Ismail Hakki Klakavan attracts attention as a junior partner of the company. Soma's largest shareholder with a share of 53 per cent Tilag Mining Inc. is seen.

Become the key point where foreign subsidiaries as Tilag Mining attention. Alp Gürkan 's 53 percent share owned in Tilag Mining Investments Saffer from a registered foreign company has a share of 25 percent.

Yet another company registered abroad who Investments Tilag 14 per cent shareholder. So Soma imya Tilag major partner in mining 39 per cent share of overseas registered companies that are experiencing this tragedy by 20 percent in Soma means that subsidiaries.

Understood to be a UK-based provider Saffir Investment 'of Jewish origin, was allegedly partners.Hmmmm......Antisemitism thrives in Turkey.


Antisemitism score


Monday, May 19, 2014

Soma mine disaster - Oxygen sensors not active, no proper masks, mine already on fire: miners.


Soma mine disaster - Oxygen sensors in mine were not active, no proper masks: miners. HT: Todays Zaman.

The İmbat company worker who took part in the rescue operation maintained, based on what he saw in the mine during rescue efforts, that the masks the miners used did not seem to be checked regularly. 

Colleagues who took part in the rescue operation saw when they reached the bodies that many of the victims' gas masks had not been activated. The cords -- which should be checked every 15 days -- that make the masks function automatically turned out to have been torn off,” the miner said.

According to a report in the Habertürk daily on Sunday, the issue about gas masks is not just a failure of proper inspection, but that the miners were not provided with proper gas masks that offer protection from carbon monoxide poisoning in the first place.

 “For the past couple of weeks, hot coal was being taken out of the mine, but nobody showed any interest in this. Production was not stopped. We felt our feet get warmer [while working in the mine] due to the coal. We felt that two weeks before the incident. 

Those who were responsible for safety came and saw it for themselves. ‘Leave here,' the safety people said, but the production manager said, ‘Production will continue,” said Mustafa Gülenç, who has been working in the Soma mine for two and a half years, when meeting with the Minister, the Doğan News Agency reported on Saturday.

Reportedly, other mine workers who also attended the chat with the minister confirmed the worker's comment, and the minister told his aides to note down what Gülenç had said.

Hot coal is an indication that there was already a fire burning in some part of the mine that apparently, the mining officials failed to take proper note of.Read the full story here.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Soma branch of the CHP, unconvinced of the numbers, has opened a missing persons office.


Soma branch of the Republican People's Party (CHP), unconvinced of the numbers, has opened a missing persons office.(TZ).

The Soma branch of the Republican People's Party (CHP), unconvinced of the numbers, has opened a missing persons office in the mining town to locate the bodies.

CHP Deputy Chairman Yakup Akkaya claimed: “Everybody in Soma says there are inconsistencies with the numbers. There are people who still haven't found their relatives. We don't want anything to be covered up.”

CHP Manisa branch Chairman Hasan Cihat Kaplan and CHP Soma branch Chairman Murat Bayramoğlu are in charge of coordinating the efforts of the missing persons office.

When the CHP opened its office, the 486 names hadn't been announced. Energy Minister Taner Yıldız had initially said there were 787 workers trapped inside the mine. Although the total count now comes to 787, the CHP suspects there are some miners unaccounted for among the dead.

The CHP called on victims' families to contact their missing persons office if they have failed to locate the body of a loved one.

Rescue efforts in the mining town of Soma ended on Sunday. Workers, supposedly preparing the mine for a legal investigation, put up walls blocking two of the mine's entrances. Walls from autoclaved concrete blocks have also been put up inside the mine in front of the entries of some galleries, reports said. Officials say the purpose of the walls is to contain the fire still raging on in the mine.

The authorities have also said workers entering the site carrying concrete blocks were going to repair the parts of the mine where there is a risk of collapsing. The chief prosecutor, work safety inspectors and experts will visit the site after the repair work is done, they said.Hmmmm......All 'Loyal AKP members' i presume?Read the full story here.

Nine World governments offered assistance in wake of Soma disaster, Turkey accepted NONE!


Nine World governments offered assistance in wake of Soma disaster, Turkey accepted NONE! (Cihan).

A number of countries around the world have offered assistance to help Turkey deal with a mine explosion that has gone down in history as the country's deadliest mining accident, while the government says foreign assistance is currently not needed.

The US, France, Germany, Iran, Israel, Greece, Poland, China and Pakistan are among the countries that have offered assistance. There is no need for help from other countries at this stage since a sufficient number of rescue workers are already responding to the crisis, officials were quoted as saying by state news agency Anadolu on Wednesday afternoon.Hmmm......What are they afraid of? What's being 'Sealed up' so fast?Read the full story here.




Friday, May 16, 2014

Video - Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan: "if you boo the country’s prime minister, you get slapped!"



Source.


Turkey - Allegations surface that Dead Foreign (Syrian) mine workers in Soma were not removed from mine


Turkey - Allegations surface that Dead foreign mine workers in Soma were not removed from mine. Source.








Update:

SEVGİ - Claim: Illegal Syrian and underage workers are trapped in the mine


Hmmmm.....IS THIS THE REASON WHY TURKEY REFUSED FOREIGN AID, IS THIS A COVERUP OPERATION?

Erdogan government conceals exact number of Soma mine accident victims.


Erdogan government conceals exact number of Soma mine accident victims.(Taz).

The Turkish government is concealing the exact number of the mine accident victims in the Manisa province, Turkish MP from Manisa province, member of the opposition Republican People's Party Hasan Oren said on May 16, Turkish newspaper Milliyet reported.
"Only the government knows the exact number of mine accident victims," he said.
He also stressed that the country's opposition parties have agreed not to use the mine tragedy for political purposes.

The death toll as a result of the mine accident in Turkey on May 13 has increased to 284.

"The rescue operations are underway, however, few chances remain to rescue the miners, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources," Taner Yildiz said earlier.

Currently, over 90 people remain under the rubble.

Turkey has announced a three day mourning period for victims of the mining accident.
In total, there are 740 coal mines and 48,706 miners in Turkey.
Over 3,000 people have been killed and over 100,000 have received various injuries since 1941 to the present day in the mine accidents in Turkey.
Some 10.4 percent of the total number of the work accidents occurs at mines in Turkey.
In the first four months of 2014, some 1,235 people were killed as a result of the work accidents in Turkey, 103 of them were female.
The previous worst mine accident in Turkey's history occurred in the province of Zonguldak in 1992, killing 263 workers.Hmmmmm.......




Update:  Another person facing an agonizing wait outside the depot is Hüseyin Acar, a 77-year-old former miner, who said his grandson, 31-year-old Talip Özden, was among the missing.

“I haven't been able to find my grandson dead or alive in three days,” he said.

Other family members have also been tirelessly waiting outside the makeshift morgue, with exhaustion and grief visible on their faces.
 Acar said the officials' claims that inspections had taken place at the mine were a lie. “They still use welding equipment using an oxygen tube. Everybody knows that
When the inspectors arrive, they [mine managers] take the LPG tubes and the flammable material outside.

Nobody should try to lie to us saying inspections are carried out.

”Social security expert Erhan Nacar said the state has failed to force mine owners to take the necessary precautions. “In mines, the place we call the power unit is protected with a reinforced structure and normally even a dynamite explosion would have no impact,” he said.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Fire at mine in Turkey’s Manisa province continues, preventing rescuers entry.


Fire at mine in Turkey’s Manisa province continues, preventing rescuers entry.(Taz).

The fire that broke out as a result of the mine explosion in Turkey's Manisa province still continues, Turkish TRT Haber TV channel quoted Taner Yildiz, the country's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources as saying on May 15.

He pointed out that the rescuers will be able to enter the mine only after the fire is completely extinguished.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul said today, on May 15 that the work for rescuing the miners in the Manisa province continues without pause.

The president said there is tremendous mourning in Turkey, and people should support each other.
Gul also said the Turkish state will render the necessary aid to the families of those killed in the mining disaster.

Turkish president thanked the countries that offered assistance in rescuing the miners.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul and government members have today arrived in the country's Manisa province, where a mine explosion occurred.

Gul and the country's government members got acquainted with the situation at the mine.

The death toll as a result of the mine accident in Turkey on May 13, has increased to 282.

The rescue operations are underway, however, few chances remain to rescue the miners, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Taner Yildiz said earlier.

Currently, over 90 people remain under the rubble.

Turkey has announced a three day mourning period for victims of the mining accident.Read the full story here.

You know you live in an Islamist state when..........


Turkey in Final Push to Save Miners as Hopes Dim




Health condition of head of Turkish Trade Unions deteriorates after poisoning from tear gas in Izmir


Health condition of head of Turkish Trade Unions deteriorates after poisoning from tear gas in Izmir.(Taz).

The health condition of the head of Turkish Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions, Kani Beko deteriorated during a rally, held with regard to the death of 282 miners, Turkish Milliyet newspaper reported on May 15.
Beko suffered poisoning from tear gas. The tear gas was used by the Izmir police to disperse the demonstrators.

Reportedly, over 20,000 trade union members hold protests in Turkey today in connection with the deaths of miners in the Manisa Province.Read the full story here.


Turkish PM Erdoğan's advisor kicking Soma mourner leads to massive outrage on social media.




 Yusuf Yerkel, an adviser of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, sparked massive outrage after being photographed while kicking a mourner in Manisa’s Soma on Tuesday in the wake of the previous day’s mining disaster that killed at least 282 people.

Tension rose as the anger in Soma, which went through the worst mining tragedy in Turkey’s history. PM Erdoğan faced boos and calls for his resignation as his bodyguards had allegedly tried to suppress any attempt at protest.
Yerkel, one of Erdoğan’s advisers, was captured delivering an enraged kick at a prone protester who was being held down by two soldiers

Turkish media reported that according to witness accounts, special forces were interrogating the protester after the latter kicked an official car belonging to the convoy of the prime minister.

Yerkel, who saw the scene as he was preparing to take a seat in the car assigned to him, ran at the protester, kicking him three or four times.

His act has caused fury on social media, with the picture being shared widely. 

Yerkel later spoke to BBC Turkish, confirming that he was the one in the picture and that he would soon make a public statement regarding the incident.

Video - Showing PM Erdogan apparently slapping a local in Soma, where mine blast occurred.



Update: New images from the Prime Minister's fisted attack!
















Erdogan cried for the poem of the dead daughter of a Muslim Brotherhood leader, 280 dead miners are 'the usual hazards of the job'

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Video - People of Soma chanted: "Killer erdogan!"




Turkey refuses aid offered by other countries to eliminate consequences of mine explosion.


Turkey refuses aid offered by other countries to eliminate consequences of mine explosion.(Taz).

Turkey has refused the aid offered to eliminate the consequences of the explosion in Soma coal mine of the country's Manisa province, Turkish Anadolu agency reported on May 14.
Germany, Greece, Israel, Iran, Poland, the U.S. and France offered an aid to Turkey, according to the agency.
Turkey has announced a three day mourning period for victims of the mining accident, the Turkish Cabinet of Ministers said on May 14.

Turkish flags will fly at half staff in the country, as well as in all the diplomatic missions for the three day mourning period, according to the Cabinet of Ministers.

Some 238 people were killed in the mine accident in Manisa province, according to the latest data.
The Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources does not have accurate data on the number of workers who were in the mine at the time of the explosion, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said on May 14.

The previously published data on the number of workers in the mine at the time of the accident was provided by the head of the mine and could not been confirmed by the ministry.

The minister added that some 370 people have been rescued as part of rescue operations.

Few chances remain to rescue the miners, Yildiz said earlier.

The mine has burst into flame and although the miners have few chances for survival, the rescuers will do everything possible, the minister stressed.Most of the miners died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.Hmmm....What are they afraid of that outsiders might find out?


Related:  

Turkey on the brink of disaster

In total there are 740 coal mines and 48,706 miners in Turkey.

Over 3,000 people have been killed and over 100,000 have received various injuries since 1941 to the present day in mine accidents in Turkey.

Some 10.4 percent of the total number of the work accidents occurs at mines in Turkey.

In the first four months of 2014, some 1,235 people were killed as a result of the work accidents in Turkey, 103 of them were female. The worst mine accident in Turkey's history occurred in the province of Zonguldak in 1992, killing 263 workers.

Video - People of Soma protesting Turkish PM Erdogan.



Hmmm.....Cries for the dead Muslim brotherhood leader daughter's poem, but 238 dead miners is 'occupational hazard'

Turkey - Video feed for Turkish mining disaster, Death toll in Soma mine blast now at 245 , many still trapped



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