Soma arrests rise to eight

The number of people arrested over the Some mine disaster has risen to eight, according to the Anadolu press agency, including the CEO and general manager of the company that owns the mine.

Can Gurkan, the CEO of Soma Coal Mining Co. and son of its owner, Alp Gurkan, and Ramazan Dogru, the company’s general manager, were detained with 25 others on Sunday. The arrests were made for the provisional charge of “causing multiple deaths”, reported Reuters.

Meanwhile, the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had promised to bring those responsible for the disaster to justice. Speaking in his weekly address to ruling party legislators, Erdogan said that “no one will be able to cover up this painful incident. All criminal and administrative investigations will be carried out and we will be strictly monitoring them." 

The prime minister has taken flak for his handling of the incident, which has seen protestors take to the street, angry at Turkey’s mine safety record. The Turkish parliament is scheduled to debate the launching a parliamentary investigation into the accident today. 

Written by Jonathan Rowland

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