Soma mining disaster

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The place of the accident: The Eynez pit of Soma Kömür İşletmeleri A.Ş. in Soma County in Turkey
Mouth hole of the mine with miners and mine fighters , including from the neighboring mine of the İmbat company , on May 15, 2014

The Soma mining disaster occurred on May 13, 2014 in one of the two Eynez brown coal mines in Soma in the western Manisa Province of Turkey . According to official figures, 301 miners died and 486 survived. The disaster of 2014 is considered to be the most casualty in the history of Turkish mining (before the disaster of March 3, 1992 in the Zonguldak coalfield on the Black Sea, with 263 dead). On May 17, 2014, the search for survivors was officially stopped.

course

During the shift change on the afternoon of May 13, 2014, Soma Kömür İşletmeleri A.Ş. in Soma underground to a mine fire . The fire was noticed at 3:10 p.m., the fire brigade was alerted after 57 minutes and the emergency number 112 was triggered 6 minutes later .

At the time of the accident, 787 miners were working on the outgoing early shift and the incoming midday shift underground. 486 miners were able to save themselves or were rescued by the mine rescue service , 85 of them were injured. The rescue work was coordinated by Gökalp Büyükyıldız, the manager of the neighboring İmbat mine , who was able to save 80 miners by reversing the direction of ventilation . When the search work was stopped on May 17, 2014, 301 miners were found dead. The leading cause of death was asphyxiation from carbon monoxide poisoning .

Cause of accident

While an explosion at a transformer station was initially assumed to be the cause, the operator of the mine stated that the fire there was not the cause but the consequence of the fire. Initial investigations by the public prosecutor revealed that the coal had self-ignited . At a meeting with Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Faruk Çelik after the accident, buddies said that they had already produced hot coal 2 to 3 weeks before the accident and had also informed those responsible about it. But nobody was interested in this.

Mine

Orifice of the conveyor mountain

geology

The Soma lignite mining area is the second largest lignite mining area in Turkey. It was explored in 1958 on behalf of the MTA (Mineralogical Research and Exploration Institute of Turkey) by Karl Nebert , who thus prepared the foundation for geological research in the region. Nebert first mapped the surface geology of the 330 km² area in order to then determine the conditions in the subsoil with 60 boreholes . Subsequent field research deepened the knowledge gained by Nebert, but also led to the revision of some of his ideas.

The Soma luster coal seams are part of the Miocene , fluviatil - lacustrine filling of a fossil sedimentary basin known as the Soma Basin or Soma-Eynez Basin. The Soma Basin is one of numerous intramontane coal basins of the so-called West Anatolian Trench Complex (WAGC). As a cause of the formation of this grave system a by the alternate movement West Anatolia after SE (tectonic extrusion, engl .: will escape tectonics ) along the North (NAFZ) and Eastern-Anatolian fault zone (EAFZ) contiguous crustal extension in Miozän considered. Continued expansion in the NS direction in the Pliocene and Quaternary , radiating from the Aegean Sea , led to the overprinting of the Miocene basin structures by EW and NS-oriented trenches. While the Miocene sediments on clods that experienced little or no post-Miocene subsidence have eroded again , they are covered by massive deposits in the Plio-Pleistocene trenches. In the Soma basin , too , they are only found near the surface in some moderately subsidiary areas.

The Miocene of the Soma Basin is divided into two formations : the Soma Formation and the Deniş Formation. The Soma Formation is the older of the two and is discordant on the Palaeogene-Mesozoic basement , which consists mainly of marine sediments . Both formations are predominantly made of fluvial sandstones and lacustrine marls . The Deniş formation has a relatively powerful volcaniclastic interval.

In the Miocene sediments of the Soma Basin, three thicker brown coal seams have developed: the lower seam (k1, LC), the middle seam (k 2 , MC) and the upper seam (k 3 , UC), which are separated from one another by thick intermediate means . The lower and middle seams are assigned to the Soma formation, the upper to the Deniş formation. The upper seam (k 3 ) is significantly thinner than the other two, cannot withstand laterally and is therefore not worth building . In the drilling profiles investigated by Nebert (1978), the two seams of the Soma formation (k 1 and k 2 ) that are worth building occur at a depth between 25 and 500 m. In the southern part of the Soma coal field, the seams bite out in several places, such as k 1 at Yardibi Tepe, Tavşanlı Tepe and Mumya Tepe. There the coal was partly extracted in open-cast mining .

The calorific value of Soma luster coal is between 28.5 and 58.6 MJ / kg, its ash content between 30% and 46.54%, the water content between 12.24% and 30.28% and the sulfur content between 0.93% and 3.52%. The thickness of the seams varies greatly. The lower seam reaches up to 20 m, of which 50% to 75% are worth building. It is possible that both the upper and middle seams do not represent a single horizon, but rather several lenticular accumulations at closely spaced but different stratigraphic levels.

In total, the deposit is around 120 million tons of bright coal. However, some estimates are close to 680 million tons.

Due to the post-Miocene flood tectonics , the layers of the basin filling are intensely disturbed and small-scale changes in brushing and collapsing are frequent.

history

The mine has been owned by the Turkish state since it was founded. In 2009 it was privatized and Soma Kömür İşletmeleri A.Ş. based in Istanbul took over coal mining. In September 2012, Alp Gürkan, the head of Soma Holding , said that he has been able to significantly reduce production costs since taking over the mine. Instead of US $ 130 to US $ 140, a ton of coal now costs US $ 23.8.

The facility is one of around 740 coal mines in Turkey that employ nearly 50,000 miners; Since 1941, over 3,000 Turkish miners have died in mining accidents, and the number of occupational accidents in the country is also very high outside of mining.

Safety deficiencies were certified in this mine in a report from 2010. There were insufficient shelters . A single container existed for 6,500 miners and this was smaller than prescribed. 14 miners were able to escape there, but suffocated after a few hours, although self-sufficient 14-day survival should be guaranteed in such shelters.

Reactions

Turkish government

After the accident, the Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız (AKP) and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan went to the scene of the accident. Erdoğan denied any responsibility on the part of the government; such accidents at work happened “all over the world”.

The government declared a three-day state mourning . The flags were half-masted on May 14, 2014 throughout the country and at the representations abroad. The Turkish Ministry of Labor and the mining company announced that the pit was last examined for safety deficiencies on March 17, 2014 and that there were no complaints. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs set up a commission of inquiry on the evening of the accident.

Erdoğan and President Abdullah Gül canceled trips abroad because of the accident.

Yıldız himself opened the Eynez mine on July 10, 2013 with the words: “The safety of our workers comes first and always comes first. Any accidents would hit us deeply - we will know how to prevent that! ” Two weeks before the accident, the AKP had rejected a request from the opposition party CHP to investigate the safety precautions in the Soma mine because of previous work accidents.

Miners and people

The left trade union alliance DİSK accused the government of downplaying the number of victims in the first hours after the disaster. DİSK boss Kani Beko criticized the use of numerous temporary workers in the mine. Since there are whole chains of subcontractors at work in pits like Soma's, which are not properly controlled and, moreover, safety regulations are disregarded because it is only about profit, Beko spoke of a massacre in the mine.

There were protests across the country against the Erdoğan government, which acted violently against it. In Istanbul and other cities, thousands of people demonstrated on the occasion of the recurring accidents in Turkish mines. In Ankara , 3,000 to 4,000 people took to the streets and shouted anti-government slogans. Here and at other demonstrations, the police used tear gas and water cannons . Violent protests broke out in Soma itself, angry demonstrators kicked Erdoğan's car and demanded the resignation of the entire government.

The national football federation Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu (TFF) postponed all games of all amateur and professional leagues scheduled for Wednesday, May 14 and Thursday, May 15, as did the national basketball federation of the Turkish Basketball Federation (TBF), which is responsible for the game suspended for two days.

International

Several countries offered assistance to Turkey. These included Israel and Greece , with which Turkey has tense relations.

Pope Francis invited to intercede for the victims of the misfortune.

Michael Vassiliadis , chairman of IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie (IG BCE), said: “The Soma accident makes the real safety deficiencies clear in a terrible way. We expect and demand that the underground safety standards will finally be observed in order to protect the life of the miners. ”In the past few years, those responsible had violated safety regulations or had people work with outdated equipment on several occasions.

consequences

Legal consequences

Five days after the Soma mine accident, 25 people were arrested as a result of a public prosecutor's investigation into the cause of the accident , including two senior executives of the mine, general manager Ramazan Doğru and operator Akın Çelik. Soon afterwards, six and a short time later three more of those arrested were released. Can Gürkan, the company's CEO and son of Alp Gürkan, the head of Soma Holding, was arrested. The Turkish public prosecutor's office initiated proceedings for negligent homicide against 3 employees of the operating company.

The trial against those responsible took place in Akhisar . 45 people were charged, including Can and Alp Gürkan.

On July 11, 2018, three responsible persons were sentenced to long prison terms, the plant director to 22 years and 6 months, the managing director Can Gürkan to 15 and the operator to 18 years and 9 months imprisonment.

Pit closings

The disaster mine in Eynez was closed by the authorities. As a result, inspections in other mines of Soma Kömür İşletmeleri A.Ş. Defects found in the region and further operation prohibited by the authorities. This affects the mines in Işıklar and Atabacası .

Personal consequences in politics

Yusuf Yerkel, an adviser to Erdoğan, kicked a demonstrator who was being held on the ground by two police officers. He then went on sick leave because of his sprained leg. The scene was recorded on video, caused an international sensation and put the Erdoğan government under even more pressure. Yerkel later stated that he had lost control of himself. Erdoğan initially stood behind his employee before dismissing him on May 21, 2014.

See also

Web links

Commons : Soma Mine Disaster  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Martens: Explosion in coal tunnels The number of victims rises to over 200. FAZ.net, May 13, 2014, accessed on May 16, 2014 .
  2. ^ A b Another mine collapses in Turkey. today.az, May 14, 2014, accessed on May 16, 2014 (English, 1,235 deaths in occupational accidents in the first four months of 2014).
  3. ↑ Search work in Soma stopped. deutschlandfunk.de, May 17, 2014, accessed on May 18, 2014 .
  4. ↑ Basın Açıklaması Soma Kömür İşletmeleri A.Ş. ( Memento of May 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (Company press release) May 15, 2014
  5. ↑ İtfaiyeye faciadan 57, 112'ye ise 63 dakika sonra haber verildi. Radikal, May 20, 2014, accessed May 25, 2014 (Turkish).
  6. ↑ TC Başbakanlık Kamu Diplomasisi Coordinatorlüğü: Türkiye'yi yasa boğan Soma faciasının ardından tüm imkânlar seferber edildi.
  7. ↑ 80 buddies saved. Doğan Haber Ajansı, May 17, 2014, accessed May 18, 2014 .
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  9. ↑ a b Cumhuriyet : Can Gürkan tutuklandı. (Can Gürkan was arrested.) May 19, 2014
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  11. ↑ a b Bernhard Hubmann, Tillfried Cernajsek: Ao. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Karl Anton NEBERT , February 15, 1912 - October 19, 2003 . (Obituary). In: Yearbook of the Federal Geological Institute . tape 145 , no. 1 , 2005, p. 131-133 ( PDF, 400 kB ).
  12. ↑ a b c d e f Karl Nebert: The lignite-bearing Neogene region of Soma, Western Anatolia . In: Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration Institute of Turkey . No. 90 , 1978, p. 20–72 ( PDF, 2 MB ). PDF, 2 MB ( Memento from May 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  13. ↑ a b c d Uğur İnci: Miocene Synvolcanic Alluvial Sedimentation in Lignite-bearing Soma Basin, Western Turkey . In: Turkish Journal of Earth Science . tape 7 , no. 2 , 1998, p. 63-78 ( online ).
  14. ↑ a b c d Uğur İnci: Depositional evolution of Miocene coal successions in the Soma coalfield, western Turkey . In: International Journal of Coal Geology . tape 51 , no. 1 , 2002, p. 1–29 , doi : 10.1016 / S0166-5162 (01) 00066-0 (An almost identical work can be found in the Polish Geological Institute Special Papers, Vol. 7, 2002, pp. 109–118, PDF, 2.6 MB ).
  15. ↑ a b c Fuzuli Yağmurlu, Hülya Inaner, Eran Nakoman, Uğur İnci: Age, Tectonic Setting and Quality Distribution of the Neogene Lignite Deposits of Western Anatolia . In: Geologica Belgica . tape 7 , 3–4 (Proceedings of the 5th European Coal Conference), 2004, pp. 251-258 ( online ).
  16. ^ Karl Nebert: Horizontal movements in the brown coal area of ​​Soma (Western Anatolia) . In: Communications from the Department of Geology, Paleontology and Mining at the Landesmuseum Joanneum . No. 35 , 1975, pp. 133–153 ( PDF, 2.6 MB ). PDF, 2.6 MB ( Memento from May 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
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  19. ↑ http://www.badische-zeitung.de/panorama/risk-im-bergwerk-in-soma-war-seit-2010-bekannt--84958271.html
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  21. ↑ Shock from Erdogan: These are common things. Doğan Haber Ajansı, May 14, 2014, accessed May 15, 2014 .
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  23. ^ Mine accident in Turkey: 300 deaths feared. Salzburger Nachrichten , May 15, 2014, accessed on May 15, 2014 .
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  25. ↑ Energy Minister in July '13 in Soma: 'Safety First!' Doğan Haber Ajansı , May 14, 2014, accessed May 15, 2014 .
  26. ^ Markus Bernath: Pressure on the Turkish government after a mine accident. Fatal accidents at work. derStandard.at , May 14, 2014, accessed on May 17, 2014 .
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  28. ↑ Mine accident in Turkey: number of deaths rose to 238! Doğan Haber Ajansı , May 14, 2014, accessed May 17, 2014 .
  29. ↑ There was a massacre in the mine after the explosion. Doğan Haber Ajansı , May 14, 2014, accessed May 17, 2014 .
  30. ↑ Erdogan plays down the mining accident. Spiegel Online, May 14, 2014, accessed May 17, 2014 .
  31. ↑ Police in Istanbul use force against demonstrators. Süddeutsche.de, May 14, 2014, accessed on August 27, 2020 .
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  33. ↑ Demos after a mine accident. Protests against the government turn into violence. Spiegel Online, May 14, 2014, accessed May 16, 2014 .
  34. ^ Violent protests in several Turkish cities. Die Zeit, May 14, 2014, accessed on May 15, 2014 .
  35. ↑ TFF'den Duyuru. Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu , May 14, 2014, accessed May 17, 2014 (Turkish).
  36. ↑ Basketbol Müsabakaları Ertelendi. Turkish Basketball Federation , May 14, 2014, accessed on May 17, 2014 (Turkish): “… Beko Basketbol Ligi ve TB2L Play-Off ile TB3L Final Grubu mussabakaları 16 Mayıs Cuma gününden itibaren devam edecektir. ... "
  37. ↑ Pope prays for victims of the mine disaster in Turkey. domradio.de, May 14, 2014, accessed on May 16, 2014 .
  38. ↑ IG BCE mourns the victims of Soma. IG BCE, May 14, 2014, accessed May 16, 2014 .
  39. ↑ Public prosecutor's office investigates negligent homicide. Zeit Online , May 18, 2014, accessed May 21, 2014 .
  40. ↑ Mine disaster in Turkey: Public prosecutor opens proceedings against three suspects. Spiegel Online , May 20, 2014, accessed May 21, 2014 .
  41. ^ Proceedings for negligent homicide. After a mine accident in Turkey. Tagesschau , May 19, 2014, archived from the original on May 20, 2014 ; accessed on May 21, 2014 .
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  43. ^ Soma: Trial of the mining disaster in Turkey postponed. In: spiegel.de. April 13, 2015, accessed April 13, 2015 .
  44. ↑ Long prison sentences for those responsible for the Soma mine disaster. In: faz.net. July 11, 2018, accessed July 11, 2018 .
  45. ↑ Mountain accident: Manager of mine in Soma sentenced to prison terms. In: zeit.de. July 11, 2018, accessed July 11, 2018 .
  46. ↑ Soma mining disaster: Long prison sentences for mine operators. In: n-tv.de. July 11, 2018, accessed July 11, 2018 .
  47. ↑ Anadolu News Agency: Işıklar'daki ocağın faaliyeti durduruldu. May 28, 2014
  48. ↑ The victim of this attack was dismissed and has so far not found a job and he is now being tried for the accusation of property damage (damage approx. € 184), see beatings by Erdogan advisors threatened with imprisonment (article on www.welt.de, accessed on May 21, 2015)
  49. ↑ Erdogan dismisses his stepping advisor. WAZ, May 25, 2014, accessed May 25, 2014 .
  50. ↑ Thomas Seibert: Erdogan fires consultants after kicking demonstrators. tagesspiegel.de, May 24, 2014, accessed May 25, 2014 .

Coordinates: 39 ° 4 ′ 37.9 ″  N , 27 ° 31 ′ 30.9 ″  E