Photo via AP
Officials confirmed the final death toll for Tuesday's Turkey mining disaster at 301 after rescue workers recovered the two bodies of the last missing miners on today.The announcement followed an outbreak of protests this past week over Turkey's work safety record in response to the huge explosion that collapsed a mine in the small town of Soma, Western Turkey.The Lawyers Association of Istanbul protested on May 17, calling for the government to resign over its handling of the Soma mine disaster.Turkey's energy minister Taner Yildiz said the cause of the explosion has yet to be determined and that following the recovery of the bodies of the last miners, search and rescue efforts would now yield into further investigation of what happened."All corners of the mine were searched by a large team and there was no other body or living person," Tildiz told the Associated Press. "Until today we had focused on search and rescue efforts. Now we will be focusing on investigations, on what will happen about production."Grief and protest follow Turkey's worst ever Mining Disaster. Read more here.Tildiz said 485 miners had either escaped or were rescued from the mine. Many others, who were not equipped with gas masks, died from smoke inhalation as a result of an underground fire that burst out after the explosion, according to the mine's operations manager, Akin Celik.In the aftermath of the disaster, Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan's comments that "this is what happens in coal mining" sparked outrage and demonstrations in Soma on Wednesday.The incident has also renewed criticism and anger towards Erdogan and his ruling party, following the heavy-handed crackdown on protests last summer in Taksim Square, Istanbul.'Our hopes are fading': Hundreds dead or missing in Turkish mining disaster. Read more here.In Izmir, Turkey's third most populous city, there were reports of clashes between protesters and police on Thursday involving the use of water cannons.Government officials have denied responsibility and maintain the incident was not caused by negligence, saying the mine had been inspected 11 times since 2009.Some insist the mining company is responsible."The company is guilty," 24-year-old miner Erdal Bicak told the Associated Press. "The new gas levels had gotten too high and they didn't tell us in time.""The true cause of the accident will be assessed … through different dimensions," Yildiz said. "There will be lessons to draw for the mining world."Follow Liz Fields on Twitter: @lianzifields
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