One Turkish, two Chinese miners killed in separate accidents

BARTIN

An ambulance waits at the gate of the Bartın mine. AA photo

As days-long efforts were continuing to pull out the bodies of 18 coal miners trapped in Turkey’s Central Anatolian province of Karaman, two separate bad reports came from below the soil in the north. 

Rescue workers found Nov. 1 the bodies of two Chinese miners, Maoshun Yang (38), and Shouje Sun (37) in theBlack Sea province of Bartın, according to officials, as one other miner was killed at a mine in the Kilimli district of Zonguldak. A vagon hit Mustafa Turan at the Zonguldak mine, Hürriyet reported. 

A third victim of the collapse in Bartın, Shouping Sun (40), meanwhile, was rescued by his co-workers. 

Sources from Turkey’s Hattat Holding, said their Chinese partner at the mine should comment on the issue. 

The accident happened at 4.30 a.m.

Hattat, which won the tender for coal-mining in the area, contracted four Chinese firms for the business. Some 220 Chinese miners work at their mine.

One Chinese worker had been killed and another had been injured at a mine collapse on Sept. 19 at the Bartın mine.

“Unfortunately such an accident took place. These [accidents] are in the nature of this occupation, just like our president has previously said,” said Hattat Holding’s Chairman Mehmet Hattat after the previous accident, repeating President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statements on the tragic deaths of 301 miners in a coal mine in the Soma district of Manisa in a May 13 disaster. This time, he did not comment. 

Efforts were continuing to rescue miners trapped in Zonguldak. 

With its bad record on mine safety, Turkey is failing to protect its miners despite repeated promises by the top officials. Families of 18 miners trapped in Karaman on Oct. 28 are also still waiting for efforts to finalize on Nov. 1. A public prosecutor’s office demanded that officials from the Karaman mine be put on probation for their possible responsibility in the disaster.