Four people were arrested this Wednesday in Turkey after a mine collapse in which at least nine workers were buried under cyanide-contaminated soil that threatens to become a major environmental problem.
State television TRT reported that the mine’s director was one of those detained, although few other details were known at this time.
A landslide at a gold mine in Turkey’s Erzincan province on Tuesday buried nine miners and threatens to cause an environmental disaster by potentially releasing toxic substances into the nearby Euphrates River.
The collapse occurred at a quarry near the Bagista Reservoir, about 90 kilometers from the city of Erzincan in eastern Turkey.
Five of the missing were reported to be in a hut, three in a car and one in a truck.
The tragedy has taken on an international dimension as the landslide, consisting of 10 million cubic meters of contaminated soil, threatens to trigger other landslides and pollute the Euphrates River, which also flows through Syria and Iraq, due to heavy rains being felt. in the region.
More than 800 people are involved in the search for workers, an operation complicated by rain and the presence of cyanide and other dangerous chemicals.
Deniz Yavuzilmaz, vice president of the Social Democratic CHP, the largest opposition party, criticized the management of the crisis and stressed that toxic substances are mixing with groundwater, posing a threat not only to Turkey but also to neighboring countries such as Syria and Iraq.
“Here, toxic substances along with chemical residues are mixed with groundwater due to rain. This water feeds the rivers. The problem here is international. These waters cross the Turkish borders and reach Syria and Iraq,” he said.
Yavuzilmaz also mentioned the rupture of cyanide pipes in the area of the landslide and emphasized that there is an earthquake fault under the mine.
Other experts agree that the disaster was predictable due to the mine’s location in an area prone to rain and tectonic movements.
The mine, which has received numerous requests from local residents to close due to the danger it poses, has been producing gold since December 2010. Its exploration is carried out by the Anagold Company, 80% of which belongs to the Canadian SSR Mining, and 20% to the Turkish Çalik group. .
Çalik Holding, one of Turkey’s largest industrial conglomerates, is considered close to the Islamist AK Party and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak was the executive director of Çalik from 2007 to 2013.
After a spill in June 2022, which left tons of cyanide solution mixed into the soil, the company’s operations were suspended for three months, but then, after being fined, it was allowed to resume operations in an even larger area.
Author: morning Post
Source: CM Jornal

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