Turkish Press Review
Turkish dailies on Thursday cover the mine accident in central Turkey where 18 miners remain trapped because of a flood, as well as the crossing of peshmerga forces into Kobani via Turkey.
ISTANBUL
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On Thursday, most Turkish dailies reported on the mine accident in central Turkey, where a flood has trapped 18 miners.
A group of 34 miners were trapped underground on Tuesday after a water pipe malfunction caused a flood in the mine. Operations continue to rescue the 18 miners who remain trapped in Ermenek district of Turkey's central Anatolian province, Karaman, around 400 kilometers south of the capital Ankara.
"Our hopes submerged," headlined AKSAM, saying the hopes for the rescue of trapped miners were being shattered each passing minute.
"We already lost our hopes," the paper quoted Ayse Ozturk, one of the relatives of a trapped miner, as saying. Concerned and hopeless, she was still waiting at the entrance of the mine watching the rescue operations, the paper reported.
Search-and-rescue teams have deployed a sophisticated “octopus system” to pump out water from the flooded mine, MILLIYET reported.
Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, or AFAD, said the “octopus” system can pump out 8,500 liters of water per minute. Moreover, it has the capacity to draw water from a depth of 60 meters, according to the paper.
YENI SAFAK ran the headline "Mine gang," claiming that five private mines in Ermenek district, including the flooded one, were "operating like a gang."
Those mines, the paper said, have not been paying the wages of workers properly, have regularly taken away their lunch time, and have forced the miners to work with worn-out equipment and insufficient air conditioning.
What happened to those 18 miners is because of a "cruel boss," SABAH claimed, saying the owner of the mine had practically treated the workers like slaves just to "make more money."
The daily quoted one of the miners, Sahin Uyar, who survived the accident: "If we had been allowed to have our lunch in the canteen at break time, my colleagues would not have been trapped."
“The employers cannot force the employee to have their lunch during their shift. If you do that, the state would proceed to defend the employee's right,” STAR quoted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as saying when he visited the scene of the accident.
Erdogan said the mining tragedy was linked with the employers’ failure to abide by regulations, the paper reported.
"A bittersweet celebration," titled HABER TURK, saying the mining tragedy had overshadowed Wednesday's celebrations marking the 91st anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic.
The paper said that Erdogan had cancelled Wednesday's Republic Day reception, which was to also serve as the inauguration of the new presidential palace, because of the ongoing rescue efforts.
HABER TURK also told the heartbreaking story of a trapped miner, Huseyin Gultekin, who became a father to his first child on the day of the tragedy. "My son (Huseyin) will give a name to his son himself after he gets rescued," the daily quoted the miner's hopeful father Hasan.
VATAN covered the "confession" of Labor and Social Security Minister Faruk Celik who said, "All such mines where the employers avoid investing in labor safety for the sake of more profit should be shut down."
In other news, Turkish dailies also covered the peshmerga forces from northern Iraq entering the battle-torn Syrian town of Kobani via Turkey.
In recent weeks, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, has been fighting Kurdish forces in Kobani for control of the town.
Late Wednesday, a convoy of 84 peshmerga fighters headed across southeastern Turkey under tight supervision by Turkish authorities, HURRIYET said.
The peshmerga fighters were chosen and trained by United States officers, VATAN claimed, showing a picture of a fighter with his uniform boasting the U.S. flag.
Around 200 Free Syrian Army fighters also entered Kobani in groups of 10 from Turkey to fight against ISIL, STAR reported.
"Two hundred fighters of the Free Syrian Army have crossed over Syria from Turkey to join the fight for Kobani," the paper quoted Abdul Jabbar al-Oqaidi, commander for the Free Syrian Army, as saying.
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