On 13 May 2014, blasting at Eynez coal mine in Soma, Manisa,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, caused an underground mine fire, which burned until 15 May. In total, 301 people were killed, making it the worst mine disaster in Turkey's history. The mine, operated by coal producer Soma Kömür İşletmeleri A.Ş., suffered a fire, the causes of which were later found to be complex. The fire occurred at the mine's shift change, when 787 workers were underground. At the time, the disaster was thought to be mainly an explosion rather than fire. After the last bodies were pulled from the mine on 17 May 2014, four days after the fire, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yıldız confirmed the number of dead was 301. Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) announced the names of the 301 workers who died in the mine disaster and the 486 miners who survived. Miners protested against dangerous mining conditions in late 2013 and the demand by the main opposition party, the

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...

, to investigate the mine's safety was rejected in the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by ...

with votes from the ruling Justice and Development Party only weeks before the disaster. An official expert report was published in 2016 which found several causes of the disaster, including inadequate official inspections.

Background

Mining accident A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals or metals. Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially from underground mining (hard rock), underground coal mining, although accidents al ...

s are common in Turkey, which has poor mine-safety conditions. According to a report issued in 2010 by the Turkish Economy Policies Research Foundation (TEPAV), in 2008, deaths per 1 million tons of coal mined were 7.22 in Turkey (the highest figure in the world), 5 times the rate in China (1.27) and 361 times the rate in the US (0.02). Official statistics record that more than 3,000 coal miners died in mining accidents from 1941 to April 2014. 78 miners were killed in accidents in 2012, and 95 died in 2013. Prior to the Soma disaster, the deadliest accident in recent Turkish mining history was an explosion which killed 263 people in 1992. The mine, formerly a state-owned company, had been

privatized Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

in 2005. In 2012 Alp Gürkan, CEO of Soma Holding, indicated that since privatization the cost of producing coal had decreased from about $140 to $24 per ton. In November 2013 hundreds of coal miners protested against working conditions by barricading themselves in a mine in

Zonguldak Zonguldak () is a List of cities in Turkey, city of about 100 thousand people in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Zonguldak Province and Zonguldak District. On 29 April 2014, the

's demand for a parliamentary investigation regarding the safety in Soma mines was rejected by the Grand National Assembly.

Fire

The fire killed 301 workers, mostly from

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as " flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large ...

. Because the fire took place close to shift change, the exact number of employees underground at the time was initially uncertain.

Rescue effort

Rescue crews arrived at the mine soon after the explosion and provided fresh air to the mine workings in an effort to keep those workers still trapped underground alive. Four mine rescue teams were deployed underground to look for trapped miners; however, thick smoke initially hindered progress in the operations to rescue more workers from the mine.

Reactions

Domestic

* The Turkish government announced three days of national mourning for the Soma coal mining victims. *

Presidency of Religious Affairs A presidency is an Administration (government), administration or the Executive (government), executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of President (government title), president of a state or na ...

announces that prayer will be held for Soma on following Friday in all mosques in Turkey. * Youth week activities scheduled to take place on 19 May at the festival was canceled by Ministry of Youth and Sports. * The

Turkish Football Federation The Turkish Football Federation (; TFF) is the governing body of association football in Turkey. It was formed on 23 April 1923, and joined FIFA the same year and UEFA in 1962. It organizes the Turkey national football team, the Turkish Foo ...

(TFF) announces that competitions in all amateur and professional leagues scheduled to play on 14 and 15 May have been postponed to a later date. * Soma Kömür İşletmeleri A.Ş., the mine owner, replaced its website with a black page, a message of condolences for those affected by the fire. * Regarding the mining disaster, investigation was initiated by the Office of the Prosecutor in Manisa. * Around 800 protesters hurled stones at the police and shouted anti-government slogans as they tried to march from

Middle East Technical University Middle East Technical University (commonly referred to as METU; in Turkish language, Turkish, ''Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi'', ODTÜ) is a prestigious public university, public Institute of technology, technical university located in Ankara, ...

(METU) to the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources building in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

. Hundreds of demonstrators also gathered outside the headquarters of the company which owns the mine, Soma Holding, in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. Some had sprayed "Murderers" on the walls. During protests in Soma, Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

appeared to push a man while PM Erdoğan's aide Yusuf Yerkel was seen kicking a protester lying on the ground. Yerkel later took a sick leave with soft tissue trauma in his right leg. * Hundreds of family members in the town of Soma, Manisa ( from the mine) surrounded and attacked Prime Minister Erdoğan's car after he stated the mine deaths were "normal". Afterwards they chased him through the city, at which point he had to flee to a shop, while rocks were thrown and people shouted "murderer" and "thief." * KESK, one of the principal trade union confederations in Turkey, called for a one-day

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

for Thursday, 15 May, citing

privatisation Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

as the cause of the disaster. * Thousands of protestors also gathered in

Artvin Artvin (Laz language, Laz and ; ; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in northeastern Turkey about inland from the Black Sea. It is the seat of Artvin Province and Artvin District.Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from 'old' and 'city') is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630. The city is l ...

, Giresun,

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

, Kırklareli, Kocaeli, Muğla, and

Tekirdağ Tekirdağ () is a city in northwestern Turkey. It is located on the north coast of the Sea of Marmara, in the region of East Thrace. The city forms the urban part of the Süleymanpaşa district, with a population of 186,421 in 2022. Tekirdağ ...

. All of the protests have been repelled by police teams with tear gas and water cannons. * The Anadolu news agency reported that four persons have been arrested, including the Soma Coal Mining Company's operating manager Akin Celik. Twenty-five people were also detained and questioned.

International

* Armenia – Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan offered condolences to the president of Turkey Abdullah Gul, the victims' families and wished quick recovery to the injured miners. * Azerbaijan – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed his condolences to the Turkish people and announced one day of national mourning over the tragedy. * Egypt – Egyptian President Adly Mansour mourned the hundreds killed in the accident and offered condolences to President Abdullah Gul and the people of Turkey as well as the families of the victims, according to a presidential statement. In another statement, Egypt's foreign ministry offered condolences for the deaths. "We express our sincerest condolences to the sister state of Turkey, its friendly people and the families of the victims," Egyptian FM spokesman Badr Abdel-Ati said in the statement. * Greece – Greek Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos contacted his counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu to express the "deep condolences of Greek people at the tragic mine disaster," a Greek Foreign Ministry statement said. In addition, the Greek official expressed his country's readiness to offer any aid to the ongoing rescue operations to free workers still trapped in the mine. * Holy See –

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

made an appeal for prayer for the miners who died in the Soma mining disaster. * India – Indian President

Pranab Mukherjee Pranab Kumar Mukherjee ( ; born, 11 December 1935 – 31 August 2020) was an Indian statesman who served as the president of India from 2012 until 2017. He was the first person from West Bengal to hold the post of President of India. In a pol ...

expressed condolences to Turkish President

Abdullah Gül Abdullah Gül (; ; born 29 October 1950) is a Turkish politician who served as the 11th president of Turkey from 2007 to 2014. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister of Turkey, Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003, and concurrently s ...

. He condoled the loss of lives in Turkey's coal mine disaster and said that India stands by the people of Turkey in this difficult hour. * Israel – The Israeli consulate in Istanbul expressed sympathy, saying they "bow their heads in sorrow at the tragic loss of life". Israel offered Turkey any assistance as required. *Morocco – The king of Morocco, Mohammed VI, addressed a condolence message to the Turkish president

, and through him, to the Turkish nation and the families of victims. * Northern Cyprus – The

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a '' de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all o ...

declared two days of national mourning over the Soma disaster. * Pakistan – Pakistan announced one day of national mourning over the tragedy. * Russia – Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

expressed his condolences to those who died in the mines. *United Kingdom –

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

and

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

expressed their condolences. British Ambassador to Turkey Richard Moore expressed his condolences. * United States – U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

expressed his condolences, saying "We share the grief of the Turkish people". U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone and U.S. President Obama's

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

(NSC) also offered condolences on behalf of the American people.

International organizations

* European Union – EU Enlargement Commissioner

Štefan Füle Štefan Füle (born 24 May 1962) is a former Czech Republic, Czech diplomat who served as the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy from February 2010 until October 2014. Early life and education Füle was born ...

and Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland issued messages to express their condolences.

Others

A black ribbon with a notice that read "condolences to all of us" was placed on the Turkish

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

homepage on 14 and 15 May. Football clubs

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

from Turkey, Chelsea,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, and Sheffield United from England,

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

from Spain,

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

and Schalke 04 from Germany,

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

from Portugal, and

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

from Iran published messages of condolence about the disaster. Beşiktaş announced that all revenue of the match to be played the following weekend would be donated to the needy in Soma. Galatasaray and Atlético Madrid played a friendly match in İzmir, as did Sheffield United and Fenerbahçe at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramall ...

, with income donated to the victims' relatives. Fenerbahçe announced that they would offer one hundred scholarships for five years to children in Soma.

Investigations

An official expert report was prepared by 8 academics and an electrical engineer and published in 2016. Four other expert reports were published. Shortly after 2 p.m. on the day of the disaster the heaved floor of the main road was deliberately blasted for the conveyor belt. Soon after this blasting, a roof fall occurred and a fire started in the roof near the blasting point. The fire ignited some wooden pieces used to fix steel sets. With the help of methane, the upper part of the conveyor belt also caught fire. The ventilation system short circuited near the fire. Many recommendations for improving safety were made both by official reports and others, including better inspections, better communication and alarm systems, and more planning for emergencies. 37 people were acquitted in a trial which ended in 2018, and 14 were found guilty of causing death and injury by negligence, some of whom served up to seven years in prison.

References

{{Authority control 2014 fires in Asia Industrial fires and explosions in Turkey 2014 mining disasters Coal mining disasters in Turkey Explosions in 2014 Deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning History of Manisa Province May 2014 in Turkey Soma District 2014 disasters in Turkey