Spotlight on grave neglect at landslide-hit Erzincan mine

ERZİNCAN

The focus of the debates has intensified on a series of severe negligence persisting for months that led to a landslide in a gold mine in the eastern province of Erzincan, with efforts steeping up to locate missing workers.

Local media reports indicated that the incident involving the overflow of cyanide-laden soil, a byproduct of the mining process, like a massive cascade, had sounded the alarm hours before the tragedy occurred in the mining facility in Erzincan’s İliç district.

Routine inspections at 9 a.m. on Feb. 13 identified a breach in the area where residual soil was accumulated. Three field supervisors, diligently engaged in their inspections, descended upon the site at 2:28 p.m., only to find themselves swiftly engulfed by the soil mass, before they could disentangle themselves from their vehicle.

At the same time, in an evacuated area, five workers inside a container were also trapped under the sliding soil, sharing the fate of the buried supervisors. A truck driver working in a different area, away from the collapse site, was also swept away by the soil with his vehicle.

Some 1,700 search and rescue personnel, including police and military teams, mine rescuers and volunteers, were deployed to find the mine workers, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said early on Feb. 14.

Speaking to daily Hürriyet, experts scrutinizing the prolonged chain of negligence underscored a critical flaw – the absence of precautionary measures hindering the cyanide-laden soil's ingress into nearby water sources, particularly the venerable Euphrates River.

The location of the gold mine situated on a fault line and near the Euphrates River in the eastern city, which is the epicenter of one of Türkiye's most significant earthquakes, poses a major problem, according to experts.

They also argued that millions of tons of soil released during the process were not extracted and stored properly. The main reason for the downward movement of 10 million cubic meters of soil in the tragedy is believed to be a design flaw in the area allocated for waste soil due to capacity expansion.

"Moreover, the absence of a rain drainage system exacerbates the situation. Without proper drainage, landslides become inevitable, transforming soil into an unstoppable force akin to water. Consider the velocity – 10 million cubic meters of soil descending at an astounding speed of 10 meters per second, or a mind-boggling 36,000 kilometers per hour.”

“In essence, it becomes evident that the regulatory oversight was sorely lacking,” experts said.

The Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry mentioned ongoing chemical analyses of soil, air and water, asserting that manhole covers were closed to prevent the material flowing during the soil movement from reaching the Euphrates River.

In the wake of those incidents, engineers warned that safety risks were frequently ignored, and inspections not adequately carried out.

Anagold, the private company that runs the İliç mine, said it was working to minimize the effects of this “painful” incident.

 Parliamentary commission to probe disaster

In the meantime, a parliamentary resolution for the establishment of a commission of inquiry to investigate the Feb. 13 mining accident comprehensively and determine measures to prevent similar incidents was published in the Official Gazette early on Feb. 15

The commission will consist of 22 members and will operate for a period of three months, starting from the date of the election of the chairperson, vice-chairperson, spokesperson and secretary. The commission will be able to work outside the capital Ankara if necessary.

400,000 truckloads of soil in area: Minister

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar emphasized the presence of a colossal mass of earth equivalent to 400,000 trucks in the landslide area, underscoring the ongoing meticulousness in the search operations due to the persistent risk of landslides.

Bayraktar said that the foreign company operating the mine committed serious mistakes at the management level, adding that although there was no problem with the mine's operating licenses, the implementation process was being examined by his ministry.

"Representatives of the foreign company are still not here. We will look into this issue intensively after we finish the search and rescue process," Bayraktar added.

Meanwhile, authorities informed that the number of suspects detained in the incident increased to eight.