Families bury their dead after Turkey's worst mining disaster
- 10 years ago
The whole world is watching but for the people of Soma the pain is personal.
The first funerals have been held for some of the 282 people confirmed dead in Turkey’s worst-ever mining disaster.
Family after family has been touched by the tragedy.
Looking on, one woman, Sefer Hazar, said her uncle had lost a son.
“He had two children. His wife is devastated. The whole family is devastated…And it is not only him. We know other people who lost their lives.”
With so many people to bury, excavators have been digging mass graves. And the death toll is expected to rise with more than 100 miners still said to be unaccounted for.
This is a close-knit community in the west of the country and, amid three days of national mourning, the grief is shared by all.
Our correspondent at the scene, Bora Bayraktar, said: “They spent most of their lives together in the mines. They died together. And now in the cemetery at Soma, they have been laid to rest together.”
The first funerals have been held for some of the 282 people confirmed dead in Turkey’s worst-ever mining disaster.
Family after family has been touched by the tragedy.
Looking on, one woman, Sefer Hazar, said her uncle had lost a son.
“He had two children. His wife is devastated. The whole family is devastated…And it is not only him. We know other people who lost their lives.”
With so many people to bury, excavators have been digging mass graves. And the death toll is expected to rise with more than 100 miners still said to be unaccounted for.
This is a close-knit community in the west of the country and, amid three days of national mourning, the grief is shared by all.
Our correspondent at the scene, Bora Bayraktar, said: “They spent most of their lives together in the mines. They died together. And now in the cemetery at Soma, they have been laid to rest together.”