Devastating Work Murder: 17-Year-Old Samed Can Erdoğan Died in Demolition Work

İZMİR - A new one has been added to the balance sheet of work murders in Turkey. In an incident that took place yesterday (October 13) in Çeşme Alaçatı, one of Izmir's tourism centers, 17-year-old Samed Can Erdoğan died while working on the demolition of a house. The sad news, announced by the Worker Health and Work Safety (ISIG) Assembly on social media, has once again brought child labor in Turkey and precarious working conditions in the construction sector to the agenda.

Wall Block Hit During Demolition

According to the information received, a major accident occurred during the demolition work of a house in Alaçatı. During the work, a wall block, which broke off or fell over, hit 17-year-old Samed Can Erdoğan, who was working in the area. The child worker, who was seriously injured at the scene, could not be saved despite all interventions and died.

This tragic death painfully demonstrates the risks of employing children under the age of 18 in hazardous and heavy work. Although high-risk sectors such as demolition and construction are among the lines of work where child and young workers are prohibited by legislation, such tragedies continue to occur due to lack of supervision.

Harsh Reaction from DISIG Assembly: Emphasis on Combating Child Labor

The Workers' Assembly publicized the incident by sharing Samed Can Erdoğan's name and expressed its reaction with the hashtag #ÇocukİşçiliğiİleMücadeleye. Trade unions and workers' rights organizations stated that Samed Can's death was not an isolated incident, and that children were among the hundreds of workers who lost their lives in the first nine months of the year (as mentioned in the previous article), and called on the authorities to take urgent measures.

Experts say that safety precautions in demolition work should be at the highest level, and that employing young and inexperienced workers in such dangerous work requires direct legal responsibility. While the legal process has been initiated regarding the death of Samed Can Erdoğan, the causes of the incident and allegations of negligence are being investigated. The public expects the people and institutions responsible for this tragedy to be held accountable before justice.