Video footage from the security cameras of the Soma mine, in which 301 miners lost their lives last May, was released for the first time since the tragic accident as the first trial into the accident took place on Monday.

According to the footage obtained and published by Rengin Arslan at BBC Turkish, the locker rooms and entrance to the mine were filmed before and after the accident.

301 miners, ranging from 18 to 53 years old, lost their lives as a result of the explosion and fire in the Soma mine. It was both the worst mining disaster of the 21st century and the worst work accident that has taken place in Turkey, and came at a time when work safety record are particularly under scrutiny.

The video begins on early May 13 in the locker rooms in which the workers were being prepared to start their shifts.

The footage then skips to the statement of one of the miners taken from the indictment into the Soma mining disaster case. "When we entered the mine, we were faced with a heat just like in a sauna. Even though when we were idle, sweat would pour down from our bodies. I think the heat was caused by coal heating, but I cannot say something certain regarding this issue. Our friends working in production were telling us that fresh weather was being pumped in order to prevent the alarm of the censors, but I haven't seen it," the miner said.

Around 3:12 p.m., right after the accident, workers are seen rushing into the first aid room to pick up and carry supplies into the mine.
In the footage at 7:23 p.m., families of the miners are seen in the locker rooms in the hope of hearing from their relatives.

At 5:14 p.m., workers are seen going down into the mine from the entrance to join rescue efforts, while in the next footage at 7:28 p.m., rescued workers, exhausted from the smoke and the heat, are seen coming up using the conveying belt used to carry the coal extracted from the mine. At 7.29 p.m., a worker is seen trying to depict the situation inside the mine with hand gestures.

As time passes, at 1:10 a.m. on May 14, the first dead bodies start coming from the mine. One dead miner is seen being put onto a stretcher and wrapped with a cloth.

At 2:10 a.m., the footage shows a rescued miner trying to reach the exit of the mine with the help of two others as the conveying belt stops.

At 2:18 a.m., a miner is seen in the locker room, throwing his belongings down in anger.