Three more miners' bodies discovered after 114 days in Turkey mining disaster

More than three months after the mining disaster in the İliç district of eastern Erzincan province, search and rescue teams discovered three more miners’ bodies buried under the mass mixed with cyanide. One miner has not been reached yet.

Thursday June 06 2024 06:08 pm

Evrim Deniz / Gazete Duvar

The rescue teams on June 6 found the bodies of three more miners in the gold mine operated by Anagold company in Erzincan province’s İliç district, where a mining disaster occurred after a landslide on Feb. 13.

Nine workers on Feb. 13 were trapped under tonnes of chemical-contaminated soil that slid into the mine. Experts later found that the soil heap was overloaded beyond regulation volumes.

Two of the miners were identified, whereas another miner was taken to the autopsy for identification.

One miner has not been reached yet after more than three months.

The disaster

Experts noted that such a disaster at the mine was a long time coming, despite their repeated warnings. The Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) warned against the “demolition, sliding, and slipping risks” in the mining facility months before the accident.

On 24 May, six people, including the mine's owner Anagold company's chair of the board of directors Cengiz Yalçın Demirci, were arrested following a new expert report on the mine disaster.

In the new expert report on the disaster, the incident was described as an "occupational accident" and 13 people, including Demirci, were deemed to be primarily at fault.

In addition, the authorities who signed a positive ÇED report were also found to be at fault by the experts.

Recently, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) shared the documents signed by the former Environment Minister Murat Kurum for the capacity increase approval of the mine.