Turkish PM’s wife visits families of Soma victims

MANİSA

Emine Erdoğan speaks with the family of a miner who lost his life at the Soma disaster. AA Photo

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s wife Emine Erdoğan has visited several victims’ families of the Soma mine accident almost a month after the worst mining disaster the country has ever had.

Emine Erdoğan previously visited the victims’ families in the Kınık district of İzmir; however, the visit on June 11 was the first to Soma, the disaster that left 301 miners dead on May 13.

Energy Minister Taner Yıldız, his wife Selma Yıldız and Family and Social Policies Minister Ayşenur İslam accompanied Erdoğan in her visit to Soma.

Their first visit in the district was to the house of Muzaffer Eren, a miner who died at the age of 44. Eren, who retired after working in the Soma mine, continued to work there because his pension was not enough to make a living.

Emine Erdoğan also visited the family of Sefer Hazar, who died in the same mine. Hazar is now a widow with three children, as well as heart disease.

A mine accident in a coal mine in Soma district claimed lives of 301 mine workers on May 13 while injuring several others.