Four workers rescued after collapse in Elazığ mine

ELAZIĞ

Search teams rescued four trapped workers after a collapse in a chromite mine in the eastern province of Elazığ, local media has reported.

The cave-in occurred around 10 a.m. on Feb. 26 in a privately owned chromite mine in Elazığ’s Palu district for reasons yet to be determined, resulting in the entrapment of four workers.

Elazığ Governor Ömer Toraman announced that the rescue teams, shortly after the incident, successfully rescued three workers trapped under the soil mound, with other workers pulled out to safety hours later.

A judicial and administrative investigation has been initiated regarding the mine collapse, according to an official statement released from the office.

This mining incident in Elazığ came after a landslide in a gold mine in the eastern province of Erzincan, where nine workers were trapped underground.

Rescue operations for the workers, stuck since the tragedy on Feb. 13, were halted last week due to the renewed risk of further landslides.

A series of grave negligence behind the Feb. 13 disaster in Erzincan has brought the operational issues that violate mining regulations to the agenda.

Initial expert reports revealed that excess amounts of cyanide-containing waste from gold extraction in Erzican had been accumulated in the soil, which led to the disaster.

Amid discussions, a court in the northern province of Ordu has halted the operations of a mining company extracting gold and silver in the region by canceling the extension of its expired license from last year upon a suit filed by local environmental associations.