ISTANBUL: At least nine workers have been trapped following a landslide at a gold mine in eastern Turkey on Tuesday, officials reported, prompting urgent search and rescue efforts to locate the missing persons, AFP reported.
Erzincan province mayor, Bekir Aksun, confirmed the incident, stating that “at least nine people are trapped” in the aftermath of the landslide, the private NTV broadcaster reported. Images from the scene showed the landslide sweeping through a valley where the workers were believed to have been stationed at the time of the incident.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed that there was no immediate communication from the nine workers following the landslide, which occurred around 2:00 pm local time (1100 GMT) near the Ilic district of Erzincan province.
Rescue Operation After Gold Mine Landslide
Anagold, the private company managing the mine, expressed its commitment to mitigating the impact of the “painful” incident and assured that all available resources would be deployed to urgently address the situation. In a statement, Anagold pledged to mobilize its resources to promptly investigate the incident and provide necessary assistance.
Turkey has a history of deadly landslides and mining accidents, and the recent landslide at the gold mine adds to the string of such incidents. The country witnessed a methane blast at a coal mine in northwestern Turkey in October 2022, resulting in the tragic loss of 42 lives.
