Anger at Turkey’s government boiled over Thursday when thousands went on strike and police clashed with protesters after at least 282 workers died in one of the worst mining accidents in modern history.
Anger at Turkey's government boiled over Thursday when thousands went on strike and police clashed with protesters after at least 282 workers died in one of the worst mining accidents in modern history.
As hopes faded for scores more miners still trapped underground two days after the devastating blast, police fired tear gas and water cannon at around 20,000 anti-government protesters in the western city of Izmir.
Turkey's four biggest unions called a one-day strike, saying workers' lives were being jeopardized to cut costs, and demanding that those responsible for the collapse of the coal mine in the western town of Soma in Manisa province be brought to account.
"Hundreds of our workers have been left to die from the very beginning by being forced to work in cruel production processes to achieve maximum profits," they said in a joint statement, calling on people to wear black.
"We call on the working class and friends of labourers to stand up for our brothers in Soma."
Anger at the disaster has swept across Turkey, where mining accidents are a frequent occurrence.
Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised investigations would be launched into the causes of the disaster but rejected claims of government culpability, saying that "such accidents happen".
"We have witnessed one of the biggest work accidents in our recent history," Erdogan said after visiting the mine, where grieving relatives of the victims called for him to resign.
Erdogan said figures remained uncertain but mining operators thought around 90 workers were still trapped following the huge explosion at the mine on Tuesday which was believed to have been set off by an electrical fault.
Reports from rescue workers on the scene suggest the figure could be far higher. Most of the victims died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The premier also appeared to downplay the seriousness of the accident, comparing it to other mining disasters elsewhere, saying "204 people died in the UK in 1862 and 361 people in 1864".
Hundreds of distraught family and friends gathered near the building where Erdogan gave his press conference were outraged, with some kicking his vehicle.
Public anger also spilled onto the streets.
Police used tear gas and water canon to disperse between 3,000 and 4,000 protesters in Ankara's downtown Kizilay Square, as well as thousands of demonstrators in Istanbul.
Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said early on Thursday that the provisional toll had risen to 282 after more bodies were pulled out of the pit.
Raging fires had been hampering efforts by rescue workers still battling to find survivors and rescuers still hadn't been able to reach two underground shafts.
