2 engineers arrested over landslide at Erzincan mine

ERZİNCAN

In the latest development in the investigation into a landslide at a mine in the eastern province of Erzincan, two engineers from the operating company have been arrested, bringing the total number of arrests to eight.

Nine workers were trapped underground as a landslide occurred at a gold mine in the İliç district on Feb. 13, with search operations halted due to intense soil movement in the region.

Media reports late on March 2 announced that the two engineers were in managerial positions at Anagold, a U.S.-origin company operating the gold mine. Previously, six individuals, including the company's Canadian executive, were arrested on grounds of grave negligence that led to the incident.

Authorities earlier revealed that the soil that slid during the disaster was a cyanide-containing waste generated in the process of extracting gold, adding that the primary cause of the accident was the excessive accumulation of material in the waste storage area and delayed precautions against cracks formed due to capacity overflow in the area.

The company's Türkiye representative was released following a short detention. According to his statements reflected in the media, the representative saw the emails sent to him about the cracks in the area three days after the incident.

Shortly after the incident, the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry canceled the licenses of the mining company operating in the region since 2010.