Turkey: Several trapped after landslide hits gold mine

At least nine workers were trapped underground after a landslide hit a gold mine in eastern Turkey on Tuesday, officials said.

The landslide at the Copler mine happened at 2:30 p.m. local time (1130 GMT) near the town of Ilic in Turkey's mountainous Erzincan province.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said they had no news about at least nine workers at the mine and that rescue teams were at work at the site.

"We installed our [rescue] vehicles, our generators, and our night lighting equipment," Yerlikaya told state broadcaster TRT. "We have only one wish: to be able to give good news to the families of these brothers."

Concern over cyanide-laced soil 

Dangerous levels of cyanide-laced soil had collapsed, making search operations difficult, officials said. Cyanide is a chemical compound controversially used in open-pit mining to extract minuscule amounts of gold from a lot of rock.

Anagold Mining has operated the Copler mine since 2009. The company said in a statement its "most important priority in this difficult process … is the health and safety of our employees and contractors."

"This is a painful situation. Immediately after the incident, we immediately contacted our employees in the region, put our emergency plan into action and informed the relevant public institutions and organizations," the statement said.

rm/lo (AP, AFP)