Minister Yerlikaya speaks from the mining region: The sliding mass is 10 million cubic meters!

Following the landslide in the İliç district of Erzincan, Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya arrived in the region to conduct inspections. Minister Yerlikaya stated that 827 personnel are currently working in the area where the slide occurred.

"THE VOLUME OF THE SLIDING MASS IS 10 MILLION CUBIC METERS"

As a result of a landslide at a mining site in the İliç district of Erzincan, 9 employees were trapped under the soil.

While search and rescue efforts to find the missing employees continue, Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya also went to the region to conduct inspections.

After receiving information from officials, Minister Yerlikaya stated in his press statement that the volume of the sliding mass is approximately 10 million cubic meters and that it has advanced 800 meters, saying, “As you know, today is 14:28, actually we need to correct that. It is currently 03:00. That is, on February 13 at 14:28, at the point where we are currently located, a mass movement occurred on the slope in the heap leach area where the ore extracted from a mine in the İliç district of our Erzincan province is positioned, first in the form of a slide and then a very rapid flow. The movement took place along a slope with a height of approximately 200 meters. For now, calculations indicate that the total volume of the sliding mass is 10 million cubic meters, and it is estimated that this mass moved up to approximately 800 meters with an average speed of 10 meters per second. According to our initial findings, unfortunately, 9 of our workers remained under the sliding mass, and our search and rescue efforts for our workers are continuing without interruption”.

MOBILE TRACKING SYSTEMS INSTALLED

Stating that mobile tracking systems and ground radar equipment have been installed in the region to both monitor any potential new slides and to detect people and vehicles under the debris, Minister Yerlikaya said, “From the very first minutes of the incident, the AFAD provincial directors of Erzincan, Erzurum, Sivas, and Tunceli, and the union directors of Sivas, Erzurum, Rize, and Diyarbakır were assigned to the region. Following the incident, our Deputy Ministers of Interior and Energy and Natural Resources, our Governor of Erzincan, our Governor of Sivas, our Mayor of Erzincan, our Chief Public Prosecutor, our district governors, the provincial gendarmerie commander, the provincial police chief, and general managers and department heads from relevant institutions and organizations all arrived here to coordinate the work in the field. As of now, a total of 827 personnel are working in the region, including 339 search and rescue personnel consisting of AFAD, JAK, TSK, the General Directorate of Security, miners, and non-governmental organizations. In addition, our search and rescue efforts are continuing with 562 vehicles, 5 drones, 2 chemical, biological, and nuclear vehicles, 5 metal-sensitive radar devices, and 5 rescue dogs. Mobile tracking systems and ground radar equipment have been installed in the region to both monitor any potential new slides and to detect people and vehicles under the debris”.

“OUR GREATEST PRAYER IS TO BRING GOOD NEWS TO OUR NATION"

Stating that the past behavior of the movements in the field is being examined using satellite radar data, Minister Yerlikaya said, “Decontamination and mobile coordination trucks have been assigned to the field. Under the coordination of AFAD, scientists from our universities are identifying stable areas using previous and current maps of the region and have begun placing monitoring devices in these areas. Along with this, the past behavior of the movements in the field is being examined from satellite radar data, and potential risky areas are being determined for the work to be carried out. Furthermore, there are 40 generators and 40 lighting towers in the region to continue search and rescue efforts throughout the night. As we have stated, our search and rescue efforts will continue without interruption. We would like to convey our best wishes once again to our miners, our Erzincan, and our nation. Our greatest prayer will be to bring good news from here to our nation".

News Source: İHA