How a Small Community Is Burying Its Dead After Mining Disaster

ByABC NEWS ABCNews logo
Thursday, May 15, 2014

Funerals were held today for some of the victims of Turkey's worst mining disaster as rescue teams continued to recover bodies.

The disaster on Tuesday has set off protests across the country, jeopardizing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's presidential hopes.

At a graveyard in the western town of Soma, inconsolable mourners cried and wailed as the coffins -- draped in Turkish flags -- were carefully lowered into graves.

The explosion killed at least 274 workers.

Officials have said 787 people were inside the coal mine at the time of the explosion, and that 383 were rescued, according to the Associated Press. The explosion tore through the mine as workers were preparing for a shift change, which likely raised the casualty toll.

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