Nadir Kekilli, who was working with two others inside a hole excavated near one of the gates to the parliament grounds, was trapped when a quantity of sand collapsed. He subsequently died from asphyxiation. Teams worked to recover the body for two hours before locating the deceased man. The incident happened late on Thursday night, as a commission worked on a new work safety bill.
Members of the commission drafting the work health and safety legislation rushed to the site following the accident where they were briefed by officials. The deputies extended their condolences to the worker’s colleagues.
Oktay Vural, the deputy chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) parliamentary group, said the incident served as a cautionary tale, remarking, “We are faced with very serious problems about work safety and health.”
İsmail Tamer of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) said, “Our responsibility is to pass the current law being discussed in Parliament as soon as possible.”
Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Süleyman Çelebi said commission members should be more sensitive about workers’ safety. “I am openly stating that the draft is not going to remedy this. I invite everyone in Parliament to think one more time about this issue.”
A prosecutor examined the accident site, after which Kekilli’s body was transported to the morgue of the Council of Forensic Medicine. Kekilli’s workmates told reporters that the unfortunate man was from Osmaniye. He and his friends had just arrived in Ankara from İzmir to begin work on the drainage system. Thursday was their first day on the new job.
