An explosion and fire at the coal mine in Soma, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Istanbul, killed hundreds... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo taken Wednesday, May 14, 2014 a person identified by Turkish media as Yusuf Yerkel, advisor to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, kicks a protester already held by special forces... (Associated Press) 
 
 Miners and members of the rescue services wait outside a coal mine in Soma, western Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2014. When 30 people died in a mining disaster in 2010, Mr Erdogan said: 'Unfortunately, this profession has this in its destiny.” 
 
 Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannon at thousands of protesters in the city of Izmir on Thursday, as a 24-hour strike got underway over a deadly mine explosion. Turkey's largest trade union confederation, representing some 800,000 workers, joined a one-day strike by other unions to demand better conditions for workers. No miner has been brought out alive since dawn Wednesday from the Soma coal mine where the explosion and fire took place. "The love of my life is gone," some sang, chanting the names of dead miners. Rescue teams recovered more victims of Turkey's worst mining accident on Thursday, raising the death toll to over... (Associated Press) 
 
 Miners and members of the rescue services wait outside a coal mine in Soma, western Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2014. Yerkel was identified by Turkish... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this Wednesday, May 14, 2014 photo, Yusuf Yerkel, right, advisor to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stands behind Erdogan during his visit in Soma, Turkey. Protests broke out in Istanbul, Ankara and other cities Wednesday over the deaths and poor safety conditions at mines around the country. An explosion and fire at a coal mine in Soma, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Istanbul, killed hundreds of workers,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Members of the Turkish forces wait outside a coal mine in Soma, western Turkey, early Thursday, May 15, 2014. An explosion and fire at the coal mine in Soma, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Istanbul, killed... (Associated Press) 
 
 Relatives of miners wait near a coal mine in Soma, western Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2014. Erdogan appeared somewhat tone-deaf to residents' grief Wednesday, calling mining accidents "ordinary things" that occur in many other countries after giving examples of 19th-century mine accidents in Britain. Public anger has been fuelled by accusations that Erdogan's ruling AK Party dismissed a parliamentary motion submitted by the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) to investigate safety in the Soma mines as recently as 29 April. You never know what is going to happen," said Gulizar Donmez, 45, the daughter and wife of a miner and neighbour of one of the victims.
– With the death toll now at 282 and the hope of finding survivors diminishing, anger over yesterday's mine disaster in Turkey is spiking fast—and some aren't hesitating to point fingers. "WHAT HAPPENED IN SOMA IS NOT FATE, IT IS MURDER," a branch of the Chamber of Electrical Engineers wrote yesterday, claiming the cause of the fire was negligence, not "an electrical situation as presented to the public." The group said, per CNN, "the investigation revealed that the systems to sense poisonous and explosive gases in the mine and the systems to manage the air systems were insufficient and old" and air fans actually pushed flames farther through the mine; ventilation wasn't righted until "much later." A video, obtained by the Telegraph, isn't helping the government's standing after news that an opposition motion to inspect the mines was shot down last month. It appears to show an aide to PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan kicking a grieving protester, held down by paramilitary police in Soma, where protesters have vandalized a local ruling party office. Erdogan has said the opposition motion had "nothing to do with the Soma mine." Already Turkey's worst ever industrial accident, the death toll could reach 400 as 150 miners are still underground and no survivors have been found since yesterday morning, the Guardian notes. CNN adds the bodies of 200 miners have been returned to their families, while the AP reports on the songs of heartbreak being sung as backhoes dig rows of graves and funerals begin en masse.