After the mine explosion on 23 February in the western province of Balıkesir, which led to 13 deaths and 18 injured miners, four people were arrested on Thursday (25 February).

Owner, partners and engineer

Erhan Ortaköylü, the owner of the mine and the president of the Balıkesir Chamber of Commerce's council, as well as three other representatives of the Şen Mining Company have been arrested. The names of the other three are Nihat Kosova and Emre Temizer, both partners in the company, and Halil Karakılıç, an engineer.

The head engineer of the mine, Barış Deler, was released after being taken in for questioning together with the others.

There have been two previous explosions in the mine; in 2006, 17 people died, and in 2005 one worker was killed.

Among the injured in the recent explosion, seven are in serious condition.

Accusation of gross negligence

Yılmaz Kızılırmak, an expert from the DEV MADEN-SEN mining trade union, has met with workers and villagers from the area to investigate the accident.

He reports that the gas warning devices that miners carry on their backs when underground are said to have been beeping for 15-20 days prior to the explosion, but that the mining continued.

The general early warning system of the mine did not emit any warning signals, however, either because it was not installed or because it was faulty.

Kızılırmak says that the privatisation of mines has led to unacceptable work conditions and pressure to continue work even if there is a suspicion of danger. As long as employers did not call the miners up from underground, they had to continue working. (EÖ/TK/AG)