Family of killed miner files first compensation lawsuit over Soma disaster

The family of one of the 301 workers killed in the Soma disaster has filed a compensation lawsuit against the mine’s operator and the state-run Turkish Coal Enterprises (TKİ) regional institution in a first case of its kind since the May 13 incident.

Lawyers representing Gamze Değirmen, who lost her husband, İsmail Değirmen, in the disaster, have argued that the company committed clear negligence when it failed to stop production or take safety measures despite indicators showing that levels of carbon monoxide gas inside the mine were increasing.

In the lawsuit petition, lawyers also stressed that İsmail Değirmen had been complaining and warning about the conditions in the mine in the two months before the disaster. He had particularly stressed that coal particles would blaze due to excessive heat, causing burn injuries to miners, according to the petition.

“The deflagrations of coal and fires were known by all the officials. Although stopping the production and taking precautions for labor safety were needed, the defendants did not do it so as to reach the production target and make a profit, causing this disastrous accident,” the petition said.
The fire erupted after coal inside the mine started burning, resulting in the spread of highly toxic carbon monoxide gas.

Following the accident, it was also revealed that most of the workers’ individual gas masks had failed to work and that the mine did not possess any appropriate refuge chamber.

Gamze Değirmen, 23, with her two children Yağmur and
Mehmet Han. DHA Photo

The Değirmen family’s lawyers stressed that the incident was entirely predictable and avoidable. “The crisis management from the start of...