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Turkish Police Tear Gas Protesters in Miners Hometown

Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannons Friday to disperse protesters in the town of Soma, where some 300 miners died.
Riot police face off with protesters in Soma, Turkey, on May 16, 2014.
Riot police face off with protesters in Soma, Turkey, on May 16, 2014. Richard Engel / NBC News

Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannons Friday to disperse protesters in the town of Soma, where some 300 miners died earlier in the week.

NBC News’ Richard Engel tweeted photos of the standoff between protesters and police in Soma Friday.

The protests became heated after the mine operators held a press conference earlier in the day denying any negligence over what has become the country’s worst ever mine disaster.

Anger aimed at the government has also spilled across Turkey in the wake of the explosion that sent carbon monoxide into the mine on Tuesday.

There were 787 workers inside the mine when the explosion happened and many had oxygen masks, but others were unable to escape — 284 are confirmed dead and 18 are still missing.