'Supervised release' to actual responsible in Soma disaster
MANİSA (DİHA) - Five responsibles of the company operating the Soma mine were arrested upon a court decision late May 18 as part of the ongoing probe into last week’s tragic disaster that claimed the lives of 301 workers.
Soma Coal Mining Company operating manager Akın Çelik, engineers Yalçın Erdoğan and Ertan Ersoy, and shift supervisors Yasin Kurnaz and Hilmi Kazık have been arrested overnight after long hours of interrogation. Çelik was one of the high-ranking officials who participated to the company's press statement on May 16 along with the owner, Alp Gürkan. Other 15 people were released on probation pending trial while five other suspects are expected to be sent to court on May 19.
Chief Prosecutor Bekir Şahiner said those detained were charged with "causing multiples cases of death by negligence." The 25 people taken to custody upon prosecutors' order included Can Gürkan, CEO of the group and son of the company’s owner. However the owner Alp Gürkan, as well as the company's chief operating manager, Ramazan Doğru, are not included in the list of the suspects. Those also marked the first detentions since the tragic accident on May 13, with the public pressure growing over the authorities' mishandling of the accident.
Explosion of power distribution unit ruled out
Şahiner also said that the cause of the fire at the Soma mine was not an explosion in a power distribution unit, as it was announced after the accident. Citing an initial expert record, he said that fire erupted after the oxidation of coal. Earlier, the entrance of the mine has been closed with a brick wall, after the authorities called for an end to rescue works. All mining activities have also been halted, upon a decision by the Turkish Labor Inspection Board. Only inspectors and prosecutors investigating the accident are now allowed to enter the vicinity of the mine.
Company head to be tried for fraud
Meanwhile, a lawsuit against Alp Gürkan, the head of Soma Coal Mine Company, has been opened on fraud charges. Prosecutors are demanding a prison term from six to 18 years in the case, which is separate from the probe into the mine disaster. The indictment prepared by the Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office demands to try Gürkan on charges of being a member of a criminal organization founded by businessman Korkmaz Yiğit, and being involved in a fraudulent bankruptcy.
(nt)
