Aerosmith Canceled Over Mine Fire

Aerosmith’s show at Istanbul’s Kucukciftlik Park May 14 was canceled when the Turkish government shut down all events for at least seven days in mourning for those killed in the mining disaster in Soma.

Photo: AP Photo / Depo Photos

Family members hug a rescued miner outside the coal mine in Soma, Turkey, May 14.

At the time, hopes were fading as rescuers tried to reach more than 200 miners trapped deep underground in a coal mine; 232 have been confirmed dead and a further 363 have been rescued.

There were 787 people underground when an explosion and fire spread through work sites. The death toll is expected to rise.

“I woke up this morning to the horrific news of the mining disaster in Soma,” Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler said in a statement issued by the concert’s organizers BKM and MAP. “My heartfelt prayers go out to those who have died, those who are still trapped and their families. We are holding the people of Turkey close to our hearts and respecting the three days of mourning for a saddened nation.”

At press time it wasn’t possible to get comment from Rod MacSween from International Talent Booking, the American rock act’s agent.