Worker killed during repair of Parliament

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Worker killed during Parliament’s General Asembly on occupational health and safety. DAILY NEWS photo

A worker has been killed after being trapped under wreckage during maintenance works in the Parliament building’s sewer system, while the Parliament’s General Assembly was debating a bill on occupational health and safety.

Nadir Kekilli, one of the three people working on the maintenance of Parliament’s sewer system, was buried by a landslip around 11.00 p.m. on June 14. Emergency workers battled to rescue him, but they only reached his dead body after an hour long struggle.

The incident occurred while Parliament’s General Assembly was debating a bill on occupational health and safety. Lawmakers arrived on the scene as soon as they heard about the accident.

Speaking to the reporters, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy İsmail Tamer said that taking more effective measures in order to prevent such accidents was their primary duty. However, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Süleyman Çelebi argued that the debated bill would not be an adequate solution for such incidents and called on lawmakers to review the bill once more. k HDN