ISTANBUL -- As Turkey reels from the worst mining disaster in its history, survivors and industry insiders claim that privatization has made the country’s collieries among the most dangerous in the world.

A 2010 report by the Turkish Economy Policies Research Foundation (TEPAV) found that the country’s coal mines have claimed more lives even than those of notorious China’s in terms of tons of coal produced, a widely used measurement. That would give Turkey a worst of the worst status, though most observers say China's numbers are less than reliable. Using a more conventional measurement — the number of annual fatalities per million workers — Turkey occupies one of the top spots, with a score of 5.74, according to International Labor Organization.

Critics say safety problems worsened after privatization of Turkey's coal mines in 2002, and claim that since the private company SOMA Komur Isletmeleri bought the Soma mine in 2005, the company has regularly skimped on safety measures to boost profits.

“With these mines, you can enter a mine, inspect it, everything is fine, and one hour later it explodes,” said Kenan Dikbiyik, a mining engineer and representative of the mining union Maden-Is who has been assisting with the rescue efforts at Soma. “This is why you cannot have profit be the main concern when exploiting them. This is why we believe privatizing them was an error. They should be nationalized.”

The Turkish government embarked upon a massive privatization effort during the past 12 years, aiming to attract investment and increase production in coal mining. Now some 90 percent of the country's mines are private, according to the daily Zaman.

Experts say the policy has come at the cost of safety.

“Recent trade-union statistics show that there was a 40 percent increase in accidents in mines since privatization started,” said Ozgur Gurbuz, a Turkish energy expert. “In order to win tenders, companies have to cut production costs, and there is only so much they can change. Ultimately, it is down to cutting wages and compromising safety.”

Early reports suggest that the cause of the explosion at the Soma mine was a faulty electrical transformer. According to the daily Hurriyet, the company had achieved a dramatic reduction in costs: from $130 per ton of lignite to $24 per ton, accomplished by using domestically produced electric transformers and low-paid subcontracted workers.