ISTANBUL: Prosecutors have demanded life imprisonment for eight executives of a coal mine company in Turkey operating a facility where 301 workers were killed in May in the country’s worst mining accident, media reported yesterday.
Prosecutors in the western city of Manisa are seeking life terms on a record 301 counts of manslaughter against the suspects, who were arrested and placed in pre-trial detention in May.
Twenty-nine other employees of the Soma Mining company have also been charged with involuntary manslaughter and face between two to 15 years in prison if found guilty, news agency Dogan reported.
A trial is expected to begin in the coming weeks. Those facing life imprisonment include the chief executive of Soma Mining, Can Gurkan, who is also the son of the company’s owner.
An explosion followed by the collapse of a mine at Soma in the west of the country killed the 301 miners in Turkey’s worst-ever industrial accident. Most were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning. Expert reports pointed to several safety violations at the mine, including a shortage of carbon monoxide detectors, ceilings made of wood instead of metal, and a lack of high-quality gas masks.
Oil pipeline fire near Saudi capital
RIYADH: An oil pipeline near the Saudi capital Riyadh caught fire yesterday after an accidental explosion, the civil defence department said. There were no injuries.
“The fire has been brought under control... and measures are being taken to contain the leak of petroleum products. Special teams from the company managing the pipeline are on scene,” Mohammed Al Hammadi, a civil defence spokesman, said in a statement.
The blaze erupted after the line, which runs along a highway, was “accidentally damaged” by work in the area, Hammadi said.
Agencies
