The scene was somber , sullen and mostly silent outside the Turkish coal mine . But every so often , the grief came out loud and clear . `` Enough for the life for me ! '' yelled one woman -- her arms flailing , tears running down her cheeks -- according to video from Turkish broadcaster DHA . `` Let this mine take my life , too ! '' As she was pulled away , she added , `` Enough is enough . '' Sadly , the torment for her and many others is n't over . Yes , rescuers did save at least 88 miners in the frantic moments after a power transformer blew up Tuesday during shift change at the mine in the western Turkish city of Soma , sparking a choking fire deep inside . But another 274 are known dead , according to Turkey 's Natural Disaster and Emergency Coordination Directorate . Those who underwent autopsies died of carbon monoxide poisoning , Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said . There is every expectation that number will grow . Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday as many as 120 more were trapped inside the mine , though that was before rescue crews grimly hurried a series of stretchers -- at least some clearly carrying corpses -- past the waiting crowd . As helicopters buzzed overheard and flags flew at half-staff , police and rescue workers were everywhere on the scene Wednesday night . But for most , there was precious little they could do . The smoke rose from openings in the ground showed the continuing dangers both to those trapped and anyone who dared try to get them . Rescue volunteer Mustafa Gursoy told the CNN team at the mine that conditions inside the mine were abominable -- hot , smoky and filled with carbon monoxide . Authorities worked to pump in good air into the mine , so they could get in . However , as Davitt McAteer , a former top U.S. mine safety official points out , sending in oxygen likely would `` increase the likelihood that the fire would grow and continue to put those miners at risk . '' These stiff challenges notwithstanding , rescuers have n't given up hope that some miners reached emergency chambers stocked with gas masks and air . `` If they could reach those emergency rooms and reach their gas masks and close the doors and protect those emergency areas from the poison gas , then they could survive , '' Gursoy said . `` It 's possible . We are ready for anything . '' But Yildiz , speaking earlier , said `` hopes are diminishing '' of rescuing anyone yet inside the mine . Veysel Sengul has already given up . The miner knew that four of his friends -- at least -- are dead . `` It 's too late , '' said Sengul . `` There 's no more hope . '' Political fallout . The trauma from what already looks like the worst mine disaster in Turkish history has left Soma and the rest of Turkey in shock and , in some cases , in anger . The latest death toll already tops a mining accident in the 1990s that took 260 lives . Even as officials in the United States and elsewhere offered their condolences to his people , Erdogan found himself on the defensive . Opposition politician Ozgur Ozel from the Manisa region had filed a proposal in late April to investigate Turkish mines after repeated deadly accidents . In some incidents three people died , in others , five , said opposition spokesman Aykut Erdogdu . And Ozel wanted to get to the bottom of the deaths . Several dozen members of opposition parties signed on to his proposal , but the conservative government overturned it . Some of its members publicly lampooned it , he said . Erdogan questioned Ozel 's version , and said the mine had passed safety inspections as recently as March . The mine , owned by SOMA Komur Isletmeleri A.S. , underwent regular inspections in the past three years , two of them this March , Turkey 's government said . Inspectors reported no violation of health and safety laws . The company has taken down its regular website and replaced it with a single Web page in all black containing a message of condolence . Not everyone in Soma , at least , has sided with Erdogan , who canceled a trip to Albania to tour the rescue effort and speak to relatives of dead and injured miners . He was met by a chorus of jeers as well as chants of `` Resign Prime Minister ! '' while walking through the city Wednesday , according to DHA video . Video from that network , social media messages and pictures posted to Twitter showed hundreds participating in anti-government protests in Istanbul and Ankara , with police answering in some cases with water cannons and tear gas . While not focused on mine safety , such demonstrations railing against Erdogan and his government have been commonplace in Turkey in recent months , as has the police responding with water cannons and tear gas . In the nation 's capital of Ankara , some called for silent demonstration to `` stand for humanity . '' Others left black coffins in front of the Energy Ministry and the Labor and Social Security ministry buildings . That grim symbol speaks to the sadness permeating Turkey , whatever one 's political bent . For Sengul , the miner waiting by the tunnel entrance for more of his friends to emerge , the mourning may go on much longer than the three days ordered by Erdogan . After what 's happened , he said , he 'll never work in a mine again . 2 West Virginia coal miners killed .
Protesters lay symbolic coffins at government buildings , rail against Social Security . 88 are confirmed dead after an explosion , fire inside a mine in western Soma . 274 workers made it out of the mine ; dozens may be trapped . Veysel Sengul says there 's `` no hope '' that anyone else is still alive .