Some 1,000 search and rescue workers continued their efforts on Friday to find nine miners who were trapped under cyanide-saturated soil following a landslide at a gold mine in eastern Turkey, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
The tragedy occurred at the Üçler gold mine in Erzincan province on Tuesday when a massive landslide sent some 10 million cubic meters of earth sliding down a 200-meter-high slope. The landslide, which consisted of soil contaminated with cyanide and sulphuric acid, trapped at least nine workers.
Search and rescue workers from the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the gendarmerie, the Turkish Armed Forces, the National Security Directorate, nongovernmental organizations and other miners are taking part in the efforts to find the trapped workers, supported by five drones.
As family members of the trapped miners anxiously await news of their loved ones, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, who is in the area, told reporters Friday morning that the location of the workers has been determined and that search and rescue work has been concentrated on two areas. He said three of the workers are thought to be trapped together in one location while six others were trapped in another.
Eight people including some executives of the mining company including a Canadian citizen who were detained as part of an investigation into the accident were referred to court on Friday.
The mine is operated by Anagold Madencilik and owned by Turkey-based Çalık Holding and Denver, Colorado-based SSR Mining.
Meanwhile, the İstanbul Bar Association has filed criminal complaints against a number of individuals including Anagold Madencilik officials, former environment minister Murat Kurum and experts who approved the environmental impact assessment report (EIA) for the Üçler gold mine as well as some local administrative officials on allegations of abuse of public duty, manslaughter and environmental crime.
The mine had previously been declared safe from landslide in its environmental impact assessments, which happened during the tenure of Kurum as minister of environment, urbanization and climate change.
Kurum, who has also come under criticism for his share of responsibility in the high death toll of major earthquakes that struck southern Turkey in 2023 and killed more than 53,000, is currently running for İstanbul mayor as the candidate of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
