Brussels, 14/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - The President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, has offered Turkey EU aid following the serious accident which took place in a coal mine in the west of the country. Expressing his condolences and his “deep sympathy”, on Wednesday 14 May, to the Turkish government and all those affected by the “tragic mine accident in Soma”, he stressed that the “EU stands ready to assist Turkey in any way it may require in this difficult moment”. “My thoughts are with the victims and their families, and with the rescue workers fighting hard to save lives”, he added.
The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, who is “deeply shocked by the scale of the deaths and injuries”, stressed that his thoughts went out to the families of the victims of “this tragic accident” and those who are still waiting to hear the fate of their missing loved ones. Speaking both on his own behalf and that of the European Commission, he expressed his “sincere condolences and solidarity to the people and government of Turkey”.
Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle, who described himself as “shocked” by the accident, expressed his hopes for a successful rescue mission. “My condolences and thoughts go to the families and all affected by this tragedy”, he added. Several European foreign ministers and the Cypriot government have also expressed their condolences. The Lithuanian Minister Linas Linkevicius described the incident as a “tragic disaster”.
“The most urgent thing now is to organise rescues under the best possible conditions, and we hope that as many lives as possible can still be saved”, said the co-president of the Greens group at the European Parliament, Rebecca Harms (Germany), and the co-president of the joint EU-Turkey parliamentary committee, Hélène Flautre (France). Reiterating that the mine had recently been the subject of a debate in the Turkish parliament and that there had been many warnings about potential safety shortcomings and lack of checks since the mine was privatised, they stressed that “the recurring safety and environmental problems in the Turkish mining and energy sector must be tackled as a matter of urgency through legislation in line with European standards and strict checks”. “These tragedies are not unavoidable and must never happen again”, the two MEPs stressed.
The explosion of a shaft in a coal mine on 13 May is believed to have left at least 238 people dead, and more than 100 miners are still reported to be trapped in the mine. There were nearly 800 miners in the mine at the time of the explosion. (CG)