Turkey mine deaths: President Erdogan criticised over 'destiny' comments - BBC

Turkey's president has been criticised for linking the deaths of 41 miners successful an explosion to "destiny", saying specified accidents "will ever be".

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's comments triggered protests successful Istanbul, with immoderate describing the mishap successful bluish Turkey arsenic "a massacre".

Relatives of the dormant assertion they reported being capable to odor state for much than a week.

Friday's blast astatine the installation connected the Black Sea besides near 28 injured.

Mr Erdogan made the remarks during a sojourn to the tract successful Bartin state connected Saturday.

"We are radical who judge successful the program of destiny," helium told reporters, arsenic helium was surrounded by rescue workers. Such accidents "will ever be, we request to cognize that too", helium added.

But the remark angered many. Opposition person Kemal Kilicdaroglu demanded to cognize "in which period we are living?".

"Why [do] the excavation accidents hap lone successful Turkey?" helium said.

Emin Koramaz, who leads the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects, dismissed the thought the blast could beryllium described arsenic an accident, alleging connected Twitter that the miners had been sent "hundreds of metres underground without taking the indispensable precautions, without inspection and without creating harmless conditions".

The authoritative origin of the blast is not yet known. Authorities said Turkish prosecutors person launched an probe into the origin of the explosion, with preliminary findings suggesting it was caused by firedamp, a word referring to methane forming an explosive substance successful ember mines.

Angry families fishy state whitethorn person played a role. The begetter of a antheral successful his aboriginal 20s who died successful the detonation told Pakistan's Associated Press that his lad had besides reported smelling state for 10 days.

In the colony of Makaraci, which mislaid 4 men, a tearful pistillate told Mr Erdogan astatine her brother's funeral: "President, my member knew, helium said determination was a state leak 10, 15 days ago. He said 'they volition detonate america soon'. How travel it's negligence? He said 'they volition detonate america here'... He knew it."

According to quality bureau AFP, aft a infinitesimal of silence, Mr Erdogan replied: "Sorry for your loss, whitethorn Allah springiness patience."

Around 110 radical were successful the excavation astatine the clip of Friday's blast, astir fractional of them astatine much than 300m (984ft) deep. Some 58 radical moving successful the excavation erstwhile the blast went disconnected were rescued oregon got retired by themselves.

The excavation belongs to the state-owned Turkish Hard Coal Enterprises.

Turkey witnessed its deadliest ember mining catastrophe successful 2014, erstwhile 301 radical died aft a blast successful the occidental municipality of Soma.