They arrested seven officials of the company that operates the Turkish mine, where the search for nine workers continues

Rescue teams continued their search on Wednesday Nine laborers were missing in the landslide The incident took place on Tuesday at a gold mine in Erzincan in the east Turkey itselfEfforts continue to prevent dangerous chemical compounds from reaching the Euphrates River.

“The work continues without pause. Our only mission is to find these nine people. It's a tough task, but we continue day and night, rain or shine,” the home minister said on Wednesday. Ali YerlikayaDuring the visit of relatives of the miners.

He said five workers were in a makeshift shed when the disaster struck around 2:30pm GMT on Tuesday, while three others were operating construction machinery and one was driving a truck.

More than 330 search and rescue experts are on siteMore than 600 vehicles, 32 excavators, six drones and five metal detectors are part of the 1,700-person apparatus involved in locating the missing persons, the minister said.

The detectors are the main hope, Yerlikaya explained, because they can find the cabins and vehicles trapped by workers when an avalanche occurs.

However, the enormous amount of earth complicates and delays rescue operations because “it covers about 10 million cubic meters of earth. 10 hectares” noted Erlikaya.

The avalanche, confirmed yesterday by Anagold, which owns the mine, occurred at one location. A large amount of mineral Taken from an open pit mine. This ore, already crushed, is subjected to a steady drip Cyanide solution It ends in separating the gold from the stone.

If a mixture of cyanide-enriched minerals reached the Euphrates River, just three kilometers from the accident site, it would A disaster for both wildlife and human healthPerhaps hundreds of kilometers along the river.

Governor of Erzincan Province, Hamza Aydoktu, It said yesterday that the avalanche had not reached the river, and the Environment Ministry issued a statement insisting that the floodgates of a local stream had been “closed” to prevent ore from flowing into the Euphrates.

However, it is not clear, How can toxic spillage be avoided in case of heavy rains in the region?

Environment Minister Albarslan Birkhtar, who visited with his interior counterpart, said his company inspects the mine every six months and ordered a 32-hectare work stoppage last August. Now there is no sign of danger from the avalanche site.

The College of Engineers today assured that the soil, which was saturated with moisture due to recent rains, may have liquefied because of the huge amount of mineral deposits, which caused great pressure.

Company Anagold It is 80% owned by multinational companies SSR MiningThe remaining 20% ​​is owned Salik HoldingOne of Turkey's largest industrial conglomerates, considered close to the Islamist AKP party and the president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkish authorities Seven workers were arrested on Wednesday By Anagold. Those arrested are working Company managers and executives, It faces a lot of criticism because the mine, near the Karasu River – which feeds the Euphrates – was hit by a cyanide leak in 2022, which was later removed.

In fact, the company released a statement this Wednesday saying there was “no danger” after its piled leak structures collapsed following the landslide.

“Anagold has initiated a detailed investigation to find out the reasons behind the incident and how it happened,” he clarified.

(with information from EFE and EP)