Death toll increases to seven in Şırnak mine collapse

ŞIRNAK

The number of fatalities in the Oct. 17 mine collapse in the southeastern province of Şırnak has increased to seven, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported, while the provincial public prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the incident, leading to three people’s detention,.

The Şırnak Public Prosecutor Mehmet Patlak said in a written statement on Oct. 18 that seven workers were killed and one was in intensive care due to the coal mine collapse that occurred between the Cizre district and the Cudi Mountain.

Patlak also said the contractor company’s owner and two other employees of the firm have been detained regarding the incident.

He said an initial analysis of the scene of the incident, undertaken by himself and a commission of three experts, had not revealed any illegal coal production, and the contractor firm was undertaking its activities within the scope of preproduction works.

Energy Minister Berat Albayrak had on Oct. 17 said the mine had not had a working license since 2013, adding that “work in the area is illegal.”

The autopsy of the deceased workers has been completed and the bodies have already been handed over to their families, the prosecutor Patlak said.

“We wish God’s mercy and graces on the workers who lost their lives in the incident. We wish patience to their relatives and a quick recovery to the workers injured,” he added.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) announced on Oct. 18 that it had sent a delegation of party deputies to the area of the mine collapse.

The party also said Kocaeli deputy Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet and Istanbul deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu would conduct undertake examination at the site of the incident, after which they meet the deceased’s families and the authorities.