Family mourns miner's death in Turkey, demanding punishment

AMASRA, Turkey (AP) — “My one and only, where are you,” a mother cried at a cemetery beside a freshly-laid mound of earth. She couldn't process the death of her 33-year-old son who was killed in a coal mine explosion in northern Turkey.

Selcuk Ayvaz was among the first to be buried, following a funeral Saturday where his coffin was wrapped in the red and white Turkish flag. Relatives told his stunned 3-year-old daughter to say farewell to his coffin. His wife, who is expecting their third child —a boy — any day now, was distraught, slowly eating a chocolate bar from the hand of a social worker.

Friday’s explosion at the state-owned Turkish Hard Coal Enterprise’s (TTK) mine in the Black Sea town of Amasra killed 41 miners and injured 11. Five of the injured are in critical condition in an Istanbul hospital, suffering from burns that cover 65% to 85% of their bodies, according to the health minister.

There were 110 miners when the blast occurred. Fifty-eight of them made it out on their own or were rescued.

Ayvaz’s father kissed a photo of him twice, saying “my baby.” Recep Ayvaz, 62, said he rushed to Amasra from his village when he heard of the mine explosion.

“I waited and waited and there was no news,” he explained. He then received word that his son was at the children’s hospital. When he got there, he saw cars in front of the morgue and his eldest son identified his brother’s body.

“I asked them to show me and they showed me my child,” the father said, describing his son’s head injuries. “His hair, his mustache were all burned, his sides blackened, it’s still in front of my eyes, I can’t forget it.”

The Turkish flag was hanging on their house of mourning.

“Our pain is huge. What can I say? My daughter-in-law is at...