The mine, operated by coal producer Soma Kömür İşletmeleri A.Ş., suffered a fire, the causes of which were later found to be complex.

[3] After the last bodies were pulled from the mine on 17 May 2014, four days after the fire, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yıldız confirmed the number of dead was 301.

[12] On 29 April 2014, the Republican People's Party's demand for a parliamentary investigation regarding the safety in Soma mines was rejected by the Grand National Assembly.

[56] Football clubs Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Trabzonspor from Turkey,[57] Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Sheffield United from England,[58] Atlético Madrid and Barcelona from Spain,[59] Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 from Germany, Porto from Portugal,[60] and Persepolis from Iran published messages of condolence about the disaster.

[61] Galatasaray and Atlético Madrid played a friendly match in İzmir, as did Sheffield United and Fenerbahçe at Bramall Lane, with income donated to the victims' relatives.

[3] Many recommendations for improving safety were made both by official reports and others,[3] including better inspections, better communication and alarm systems, and more planning for emergencies.

[14] 37 people were acquitted in a trial which ended in 2018, and 14 were found guilty of causing death and injury by negligence, some of whom served up to seven years in prison.