Turkish court sentences 7 to prison over mine disaster

By Mehmet Cetin

KARAMAN, Turkey (AA) – A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced seven managers, including the owner, of a mining company, to several years in prison over a mine disaster that killed 18 workers in the central Anatolian town of Ermenek in 2014.

The court ruled the seven defendants had "caused the death of more than one individual with conscious negligence" when waste water caused a flood inside the Ermenek mine, drowning the 18 workers trapped inside.

Safet Uyar, the owner of the mine in Ermenek, and engineering supervisor, Ali Kurt, were sentenced to 13 years and nine months in prison.

The mine's operating manager Yavuz Ozsoy was sentenced to 18 years and nine months, mining permit holder Abdullah Ozbey was sentenced to 11 years and three months, occupational safety specialist Engin Yetim was sentenced to five years and six months, engineer Cemile Karaca was sentenced to six years and eight months and Naci Ozsoy, a worker, was sentenced to 3 years and one month in prison.

The court acquitted nine other defendants.

The workers were trapped in a flooded coal mine in October 2014 after a water pipe exploded in Ermenek, Karaman province, located around 400 kilometers (248 miles) south of the capital, Ankara.

Rescue teams had to work for 38 days to recover the bodies after the disaster.