9 gold mine workers are missing in Turkey after a landslide that carries environmental risks
Nine workers are believed to be trapped underground after a huge landslide hit a gold mine in eastern Turkey
ISTANBUL — A huge landslide hit a gold mine in eastern Turkey on Tuesday, trapping at least nine workers underground, officials said.
The landslide at the Copler mine happened at 2:30 p.m. near the town of Ilic in Turkey's mountainous Erzincan province. Footage seemingly shot by a nearby worker showed a massive wave of earth rushing down a gully, engulfing everything in its path.
Nine workers had not been heard from since the landslide struck and “it is thought that they are buried under the ground,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
The landslide involved a mound of soil extracted from the mine, Yerlikaya told urkey’s state-run TRT News.
He said 400 search and rescue personnel were at the site. Turkish emergency agency AFAD said staff from surrounding provinces were brought in to take part.
Erzincan Mayor Bekir Aksun, meanwhile, told broadcaster Haberturk that between 10 and 12 workers were missing. The Energy Ministry also put the number at nine.
Geologist Suleyman Pampal told Haberturk that the soil that formed the landslide had been processed for gold and may contain dangerous substances such as cyanide.
He also warned of an environmental threat to the nearby Euphrates River. “Mixing with the Euphrates means the end of all life. It must be prevented urgently from reaching the Euphrates,” Pampal said.
The Environment Ministry said in a statement that a stream leading to the Euphrates was closed to prevent water pollution.
Erzincan Gov. Hamza Aydogdu said no cyanide had gotten into the waterway. “There is no leakage at the moment,” he said. “If there were, we would explain it to you. There is no leakage
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