Only 8 found respobsible for 301 lives
MANİSA (DİHA) - The general manager of the company operating the Soma mine, Ramazan Doğru, and Soma Coal Mining Company CEO Can Gürkan were arrested as part of a probe into last week’s mining disaster that claimed the lives of at least 301 workers, raising the total number of arrests to 8.
Doğru is the highest official to be investigated along with Soma Coal Mining Company CEO Can Gürkan, who is also the son of the owner, Alp Gürkan. Can Gürkan was charged by prosecutors and sent to court May 19 with a demand for arrest and then he was arrested. A technician from the mine in western Turkey was also arrested on May 19 in the investigation which showed that officials had ignored the presence high levels of toxic gas and the rise of the temperature inside the mine hours before the accident.
Four other company officials sent to the court by prosecutors with a demand for arrest, however, were released on probation. Operating manager Akın Çelik, engineers Yalçın Erdoğan and Ertan Ersoy, and shift supervisors Yasin Kurnaz and Hilmi Kazık were arrested after being interrogated May 18 on charges of “causing multiples cases of death by negligence.” Eight other people have also been charged but were released on probation pending trial.
The names of the arrested ones are as follows: "Soma Coal Mining Company owner Alp Gürkan's son and Soma Coal Mining Company CEO Can Gürkan, General Manager of Company Operating Soma Mine Ramazan Doğru, Operating Manager Akın Çelik, engineers Yalçın Erdoğan, Ertan Ersoy, Shift Supervisors Yasin Kurnaz, Hilmi Kazık and techniscian Mehmet Ali Günay."
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