Workers believed to be trapped underground at a gold mine in Turkey
ISTANBUL — A landslide hit a gold mine in eastern Turkey on Tuesday reportedly trapping at least nine workers underground, officials said.
According to a report from The Associated Press, the landslide at the Copler mine happened at 2:30 pm near the town of Ilic in Turkey’s mountainous Erzincan province.
Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said nine workers had not been heard from since the landslide struck.
“It is thought that they are buried under the ground,” he said, adding that 400 search and rescue personnel were at the site. Emergency agency AFAD said staff from surrounding provinces had been brought in.
AP News said Anagold Mining has operated the Copler mine since 2009.
In a statement, the company said its “most important priority in this difficult process … is the health and safety of our employees and contractors.”
“This is a painful situation. Immediately after the incident, we immediately contacted our employees in the region, put our emergency plan into action and informed the relevant public institutions and organisations,” the statement said.