Probe launched, one held after boy, 15, dies in work accident
AN INVESTIGATION has been launched and one man arrested after a 15-year-old boy was killed when a car engine he was attempting to dismantle fell on top of him.
Mahmut Gül, who had recently graduated from Şehit Turgut Secondary School, lost his life in Güzelyurt on Thursday at around 11.30am while he was lying under the raised front of the scrap vehicle.
According to a statement issued by the Police press office, young Mahmut was “dismantling an old vehicle on the land opposite a mechanic’s garage, where he had started to work as an apprentice”. He was pronounced dead at the scene of
the accident, police said.
After the news of the death broke, distraught members of the boy’s family broke down in tears at the site of the tragedy. Police did not allow his devastated parents near the scene.
The Labour Department and the police launched an investigation into the awful incident and the mechanic who “employed child labour” was arrested.
Members of the Güzelyurt Police Department cordoned off the area, while Güzelyurt Police Deputy Director Ali Adalıer and Güzelyurt District Governor Savaş Orakcıoğlu also went to the scene, where they were briefed by Güzelyurt Police Directorate Judicial Branch Chief Erkut Efendi.
A team from the Labour Department also inspected the site of the horrific accident and the mechanic’s garage. They were briefed by the police and photographed the area. Police arrested Ferdi Takali, the mechanic and business owner.
The Labour Department’s premlimary investigation found that Mr Takali had been employing Mahmut Gül “off the books” at his workshop.
A written statement from the Labour and Social Security Ministry said that it was “deeply saddened” by the death.
“Our Ministry will continue to follow the issue in order to do what is necessary,” the statement added.
“We wish God’s mercy on our child, who lost his life in this work accident that saddened us all as a whole country, and offer our condolences to his bereaved family.”
A message from the Güzelyurt Vocational High School, where Mahmut was due to continue his education, said: “We have learned that Mahmut Gül, who has just enrolled in the ninth grade accounting department of our school, passed away . . . as a result of a tragic accident.
“His tragic passing in the prime of his life has deeply saddened our entire Güzelyurt Vocational High School family and the people of Güzelyurt.
“May God give patience to his grieving and bereaved family . . . Your pain is our pain.”
Mahmut’s funeral took place yesterday afternoon following an autopsy to establish the cause of death.