Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was forced to take shelter in a supermarket by a furious crowd of protesters in the mining disaster-struck town of Soma.
As thousands of anxious relatives continue to wait for news, Erdogan was accused of ignoring warnings over safety at the coal pit.
A convoy containing his car was attacked by crowds and he was forced to seek refuge in a supermarket, surrounded by police.
With tensions running high, protesters shouted for him to resign and said he was a "murderer" and a "thief".
It has been reported that the PM then engaged in a scuffle with one protester.
A video shows people booing and whistling at Erdoğan, who then appears to single out one protester, telling him to “Come and boo me here to my face,” Hurriyet Daily News reports.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW:
It is not clear from the footage whether Erdoğan's fist comes into contact with the protester, but according to a report in daily Evrensel, Erdoğan allegedly entered the supermarket and targeted a 15- or 16-year-old girl, punching her repeatedly after she shouted at him, "What is the murderer of my father doing here?"
"The girl was saying, 'don't do it, brother.' I've never seen anything like this. I was horrified. How can a prime minister do something like this? What is this fury?" said an eyewitness who only identified herself as GK out of fear of repercussions to her fiancé, who is a civil servant, Hurriyet reported.
Violent anti-government protests have broken out following Erdoğan’s statement dismissing the mine disaster as “typical.”
Hopes have faded of finding more survivors at the mine, where 238 workers were confirmed killed and 120 more are still feared to be trapped in what is likely to prove the nation's worst ever industrial disaster.
The latest video surfaced only hours after a shocking photograph emerged appearing to show Erdoğan’s adviser, Yusuf Yerkel, kicking a mourner in Soma.