Public Anger as Death Toll Rises in Turkish Mine Explosion

At WSJ, "Death Toll and Anger Grow at Turkish Mine: Prime Minister Visits Site of Nation's Worst-Ever Mining Disaster, as Protests Mount Before Presidential Vote in August":

ISTANBUL—Turkey's government on Wednesday raced to deal with the country's worst-ever mining catastrophe, as a mounting death toll sparked protests just three months before presidential elections.

The mine explosion and ensuing fire that have killed at least 274 people since Tuesday afternoon has served a new catalyst of public anger toward the government, which since June has been roiled by protests, corruption scandals and Internet bans.

Mounting deaths in Soma and workplace-safety issues pose a fresh challenge to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has overseen the nearly quadrupling of Turkey's economy to $820 billion through overhauls, investments and privatizations since coming to power in 2002.

In the Aegean province of Manisa, rescue teams worked on Wednesday to evacuate about 100 people still underground at Soma Komur Isletmeleri AS's mine a day after the explosion trapped 787 workers. Local channels have broadcast wailing mothers mourning their sons' deaths, along with images of other people keeping a hopeful vigil. Separately, a collapse in the coal-mining center of Zonguldak on the Black Sea coast killed another worker on Wednesday...

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