Ankara, May 20 (IANS): Eight people have been arrested in Turkey as part of a probe into last week's mining disaster that claimed the lives of 301 workers.
An arrest warrant has been issued for the company owner Alp Gurkan for the disaster that occurred in Soma town of western Turkey, Xinhua reported Tuesday citing Turkish Radio Television (TRT).
Soma Coal Mining Company CEO Can Gurkan, the son of company owner Alp Gurkan, and general manager Ramazan Dogru were among those arrested on a provisional charge of "causing multiple deaths" in the incident.
Twenty-six people were detained and questioned, chief prosecutor of Soma Courthouse Bekir Sahiner told reporters Tuesday.
An initial report on the possible causes of the incident has indicated that the fire in the mine could have been triggered by coal heating up after making contact with the air, Sahiner said, declining the initial reports of an explosion in a power distribution unit.
The disaster is the deadliest mining incident in Turkey's history.