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Turkish mine explosion leaves 200+ dead

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B

Blablurn

Member
More than 200 people are trapped underground after an explosion and fire at a coal mine in western Turkey that has killed one miner, officials said.

Mehmet Bahattin Atci, a regional administrator, said 20 people were rescued from the mine in the town of Soma, in the province of Manisa, about 155 miles (250 km) south of Istanbul. One later died in hospital.

He said the explosion was caused by a power distribution unit. Between 200 – 300 more workers are still inside the mine. "Rescue efforts are underway," Atci told reporters.

The broadcaster NTV said the accident occurred about 2km deep inside the mine.

Tamer Kucukgencay, the head of a mining trade union for the region, told the state-run Anadolu news agency that fresh air was being pumped into the mine.

Journalists were being kept away from the site but a witness told the TV station that ambulances were entering and leaving the area.

Rescue teams from neighboring areas were being sent and Turkey's energy minister, Taner Yildiz, was on his way to oversee the operation, NTV reported.

Mining accidents are common in Turkey, which is plagued by poor safety conditions. Turkey's worst mining disaster was a 1992 gas explosion that killed 270 workers near the Black Sea port of Zonguldak.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/13/turkey-mine-explosion-trapped-underground?CMP=twt_gu
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Let's hope they'll get them back quick.
 
B

BadHand

Member
My first thought was: "Why the fuck would they keep the turkeys underground".

I hope they are found safe and well
 
C

CoolOff

Member
750.jpg
 
Z

zeemumu

Member
I hope that they get the rest out. I'll admit that when I read it, I thought that it was referring to a mine made out of a turkey.
 
Ecto311

Ecto311

Member
Kieli said:
Some of you actually found that distasteful image funny?...

Grow up.
Click to expand...

Some people like my wife use laughing as a defence mechanism to avoid feeling shitty.

The pic is lame, thats not a mine, not an explosion and it could be a chicken so its really dumb.

Working in a mine for 6 years this kind of stuff always sucks. There are tons of safety regulations but sometimes they don't prevent this. I was stuck under a silo for 4 hours one time with 3 other guys. Nothing close to what they are experiencing but that was enough for me.
 
C

coldfoot

Banned
CHEEZMO™;111857188 said:
Glad to know Tayyip invented coal mine explosions.
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His party apparently refused to launch an investigation into coal mine accidents 20 days ago. AKP, being the right-leaning party they are, firmly side with corporations over the best interests of the workers. Think of the GOP but a billion times worse. They're pretty much an Islamic version of the US Republican Party.
 
terrisus

terrisus

Member
I saw this topic title, on a second look had a thought about another way that it could be read. Was thinking about clicking on it and posting it, but then decided against it, as I figured it would be in poor taste.

But, figured that I would click on the topic to read it at least...
And, well...

BadHand said:
My first thought was: "Why the fuck would they keep the turkeys underground".

I hope they are found safe and well
Click to expand...

CoolOff said:
750.jpg
Click to expand...

Zozobra said:
That is terrible news, but I was also wondering what the fuck a turkey mine was when I read the title.
Click to expand...

Baconsaurus Rex said:
They aren't actually mining turkeys?
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Bubble Metropolis said:
Horrible.


I also pictured a place where they mine turkeys underground. Can we get the title changed to "Turkish," maybe?
Click to expand...

At least I wasn't the only one.
 
A

Arksy

Member
coldfoot said:
His party apparently refused to launch an investigation into coal mine accidents 20 days ago. AKP, being the right-leaning party they are, firmly side with corporations over the best interests of the workers. Think of the GOP but a billion times worse. They're pretty much an Islamic version of the US Republican Party.
Click to expand...

Got any evidence or are you just going to paint the PM as Emperor Palpatine because you disagree with his politics?
 
B

Blablurn

Member
News Update :(

Transformer explodes in Turkish coal mine; 201 die in fire
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Fuck.

A fire caused by a transformer explosion in a coal mine in western Turkey killed 201 people, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters early Wednesday.

The Natural Disaster and Emergency Coordination Directorate said 80 injured people have been rescued and eight uninjured people were rescued. Crowds gathered around the rescue operation in the post-midnight darkness Wednesday.
Click to expand...

Ergun said 30 workers had been rescued, but he earlier said as many as 400 workers might still be underground.
Click to expand...
 
M

MrBali

Neo Member
Over 200 death and these cheap bastards will continue to ignore safety measures because human life isn't worth much for them. It's a fire afterall it's not an extraordinary unpredictable thing how can you not be prepared for it.
 
Y

Yagharek

Member
Yeah, this would be fucking terrifying. Let's hope they can get to the remaining people underground quickly and safely.
 
V

valentine71

Banned
Some news:

A miner who has been just rescued asks the medical team to remove his boots so the stretcher wouldn't get dirty
http://m.hurriyet.com.tr/WebTV#!c=2&v=64230&h=26415796

A Turkish parlementer says the death toll has reached 350 as of now

http://m.hurriyet.com.tr/Haber?id=26414025

Someone said that hia 15 year old nephew was working in the mine, officials refuse this claim.

http://m.hurriyet.com.tr/Haber?id=26414788

News on an old interview of Soma Holding's owner. In it he explains that since he bought Soma mines, the cost of mining one tonnes of coal has dropped to 23 us dollars from 130-140 us dollars.

http://m.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/alp_gurkan_vahap_munyara_konusmustu-1191955

One miner's basic wage is around 630 us dollars a month btw.
 
K

KPJZKC

Member
valentine71 said:
Some news:

A miner who has been just rescued asks the medical team to remove his boots so the stretcher wouldn't get dirty
http://m.hurriyet.com.tr/WebTV#!c=2&v=64230&h=26415796

A Turkish parlementer says the death toll has reached 350 as of now

http://m.hurriyet.com.tr/Haber?id=26414025

Someone said that hia 15 year old nephew was working in the mine, officials refuse this claim.

http://m.hurriyet.com.tr/Haber?id=26414788

News on an old interview of Soma Holding's owner. In it he explains that since he bought Soma mines, the cost of mining one tonnes of coal has dropped to 23 us dollars from 130-140 us dollars.

http://m.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/alp_gurkan_vahap_munyara_konusmustu-1191955

One miner's basic wage is around 630 us dollars a month btw.
Click to expand...

That's pretty brutal, would hate to be an alcohol miner in Turkey, given the cost of alcohol.
 
B

Blablurn

Member
The Associated Press @AP

BREAKING: Turkey's prime minister: death toll at Turkish mine accident rises to 232.

:(

Huge disaster
 
I

iamtheb

Member
MrBali said:
Over 200 death and these cheap bastards will continue to ignore safety measures because human life isn't worth much for them. It's a fire afterall it's not an extraordinary unpredictable thing how can you not be prepared for it.
Click to expand...

I work in mine safety in the US. I'm not defending this accident, but a mine fire is way different than your typical kind of fire. They're very hard to extinguish and they can smoulder for decades.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_seam_fire

Coal fires are a serious health and safety hazard, affecting the environment by releasing toxic fumes, reigniting grass, brush, or forest fires, and causing subsidence of surface infrastructure such as roads, pipelines, electric lines, bridge supports, buildings and homes. Whether started by humans or by natural causes, coal seam fires continue to burn for decades or even centuries until either the fuel source is exhausted, a permanent groundwater table is encountered, the depth of the burn becomes greater than the ground’s capacity to subside and vent, or humans intervene. Because they burn underground, coal seam fires are extremely difficult and costly to extinguish, and are unlikely to be suppressed by rainfall.
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On top of this, if you're actually trapped in a mine fire, it's rarely the fire that kills you. It's almost always the smoke. It pretty much blinds you and inhaling it is, well, killer. It's very tough to make it out of a mine and a lot of times the entrance of the mine can be miles from where you're working.

Here in the US, law requires the presence of lifeshelters. They're like tents that provide food, air, and shelter for a few days before a mine rescue team can find them. A lot of miners don't like these though and would rather take their chances and try to get out. They think that by sitting around, they're sort of prolonging the inevitable.

Also, US miners have to carry what is called a self-contained self-rescuer. This is a device they wear on their side and in bad conditions, they can pull it out, open it up, and put in the mouthpiece that supplies them with an hour of air. Extra units are strategically placed around the mine. With the total number of casualties, I seriously doubt they had these. They cost around $1,600 a unit.

When you work in this industry, you really feel for the victims no matter where they are. It's really a brotherhood. We lost two in WV late Monday night to what they think was a roof collapse. Yesterday was truly a terrible, terrible day in the mining community.
 
D

DXB-KNIGHT

Member
لا حول ولا قوة الا بالله العلي العظيم
Hiçbir güç ama Tanrı Yüce
 
K

kazegami

Member
DXB-KNIGHT said:
لا حول ولا قوة الا بالله العلي العظيم
Hiçbir güç ama Tanrı Yüce
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I beg your pardon but what is this?
 
P

phxxBullet

Banned
Thanks god it was "Turkish" not turkey, saved thanks giving!

Nah, just joking. That's sad to hear, but the title reeeally should be changed.
 
K

kazegami

Member
DXB-KNIGHT said:
Islamic saying in case of crisis, but not sure if Turkish translation is correct.
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No, actually it is not a meaningful statement in Turkish.

By the way PM spoke: "These [kinds of accidents] are usual.. Look at US with the all technology & everything: 361 killed in 1907."

*facepalm*
 
C

coldfoot

Banned
7aged said:
Well this disaster has escalated in deadliness. RIP to all the fallen.
Click to expand...
Can you not play politics please?
Hopefully the whole world sees what pieces of shit AKP and Erdogan are.
His entire family and all his supporters would be jailed (or preferably killed) in a just world.
 
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