Turkish mine disaster: Unions calls protest strike

Relatives of the missing are struggling to cope, as Orla Guerin reports

Trade unions in Turkey have announced a one-day strike in protest at the country's worst ever mine disaster which has claimed at least 282 lives.

Union officials said the recent privatisation of the mining sector had made working conditions more dangerous.

Three days of mourning for the victims began on Thursday.

Anger erupted against the government in several cities on Wednesday after the disaster in the western town of Soma on the previous day.

An explosion caused the pit to collapse while more than 700 miners were underground.

How it happened

Electrical fault triggers blast
Explosion leads to power cut, disabling mine cages
Carbon monoxide sweeps through mine's tunnels and galleries
Fire still burning

Government officials said 363 miners were rescued in the hours after the explosion, but no survivors have been brought out since dawn on Wednesday.

Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said eight more bodies had been recovered overnight into Thursday, taking the toll from 274 to 282. Around 150 miners remain missing.

But rescue operations had to be halted for several hours as high gas concentrations underground needed to be cleared, and Mr Yildiz said a fire in the mine was still hampering recovery efforts.

Tearful families wait for news, as James Reynolds reports

The head of the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions of Turkey told journalists that several major groups of unions had agreed to the strike.

Arzu Cerkezoglu also called on citizens to wear black and march on the Ministry of Labour.

"Those who pursue privatisation... policies, who threaten workers' lives to reduce cost... are the culprits of the Soma massacre and they must be held accountable," said a statement by another group, the Public Workers Unions Confederation.

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15 May 2014