Thousands of protesters clashed with police in Ankara and Istanbul, as hopes faded for scores of workers trapped in a collapsed mine and the death toll rose to 274.
The protesters accused the government and mining industry of negligence, as the country's biggest union called a strike on Thursday over what has become the country's worst mining disaster.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised investigations would be launched into the causes of the disaster, but rejected claims of government culpability, saying that "such accidents happen".
"We have witnessed one of the biggest work accidents in our recent history," Erdogan said after visiting the mine in the western town of Soma in Manisa province, where grieving relatives of the victims were calling for his resignation.
Erdogan said figures remained uncertain but mining operators thought 120 workers were still trapped following an explosion on Tuesday, caused by an electrical fault. Reports from rescue workers on the scene suggest the figure could be far higher.
He also appeared to downplay the seriousness of the accident, comparing it with other mining disasters elsewhere, saying "204 people died in the UK in 1862 and 361 people in 1864.
"There is something in literature called work accidents."
Hundreds of distraught family and friends gathered near the building where Erdogan gave a press conference were outraged, with some kicking his vehicle.
Public anger also spilled on to the streets over the accident that has claimed at least 274 lives - most from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Police used tear gas and water canon to disperse between 3000 and 4000 protesters in Ankara's downtown Kizilay Square, as well as thousands of demonstrators in Istanbul.
Earlier in the day, they also used tear gas against around 800 students marching on the energy ministry, and 50 protesters who threw eggs at the mining research directorate in Istanbul, AFP photographers reported.
Turkey's Public Workers Unions Confederation, which represents 240,000 employees, said: "Those who keep up with privatisation ... policies, who threaten workers' lives to reduce cost ... are the culprits of Soma massacre and they must be held accountable."
The disaster added political pressure on Erdogan, who faced mass protests last northern summer and a huge corruption scandal involving his family and key allies in recent months.
"If the claims of negligence at the mine prove true, it will have a political price. Such a development would render corruption allegations targeting Erdogan's government more convincing," Professor Ilter Turan of Istanbul's Bilgi University said.
Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said 274 workers had been confirmed dead, but raging fires were hampering efforts by rescue workers still battling to find survivors.
"Time is not working in our favour," he told reporters, adding that 196 bodies have been delivered to families.
A miner from a different site who joined the effort, Murat Kurkoglu, said: "We will try to save those who are still stuck one by one, but you know very well that there is no more hope. It's finished for them."
Earlier reports said 787 workers were underground when the blast occurred. By late Wednesday, "close to 450" workers had been rescued, according to the mine operator, Soma Komur Inc, but accounts from rescue workers cast doubt over the numbers.
"There are pockets of air, but it's only a glimmer of hope because so far ... it's mostly the dead that we are bringing out," Erdem Bakin, a doctor with the Search and Rescue organisation, told AFP.
"We don't go more than 100 metres from the bottom of the mine. It's impossible to go right to the bottom because of the risk of asphyxiation from the gas."
Bakin said they found the transformer that exploded, triggering the collapse. Those between the transformer and the entrance of the mine - around 70 to 80 people - survived.
"But those who were beyond were taken by the fire and they are all dead," he said.
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