Locations of 9 trapped miners found, rescue operations underway: Turkish minister

Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar confirmed on Thursday that the approximate locations of the miners trapped by a massive landslide in a gold mine in the country’s eastern Erzincan province have been determined.

“We are still searching for our nine miners. Three of them were located in one place, while six of them were in another location,” Bayraktar told reporters on site where the search and rescue operations are ongoing in the Ilic district of Erzincan.

Bayraktar disclosed that they have deployed technical personnel to thoroughly scan the affected areas.

‘We are mobilizing all our capabilities, focusing intensively on the locations where our fellow miners could potentially be found,’ he said.

In addition to the search and rescue efforts, Bayraktar said that they are actively monitoring the environmental impact of the landslide by testing water and soil samples from the surrounding area and the nearby river for any health hazards.

‘So far, our findings and tests have not indicated any situation that would compromise public health or pose a threat to the personnel currently working on site, including the staff of AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency),’ Bayraktar said.

He confirmed that they have now moved to a new phase in disaster management by focusing on the removal of the accumulated soil and initiating rehabilitation efforts to safely store the displaced earth.

He added that a roadmap for these rehabilitation efforts will be made later on Friday.

He said the various relevant authorities are conducting technical and administrative investigations to determine the cause of the landslide and identify those responsible.

As part of this process, he disclosed that legal proceedings have begun against eight individuals, including one manager of foreign origin, and any negligence or discrepancy identified by the judiciary will be addressed accordingly.

• Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar