Ministry statement on landslides in Zonguldak: Search for missing persons suspended

Deputy Minister of Interior Münir Karaloğlu stated regarding the landslides in Zonguldak: "Of the 21 injured who were taken to the hospital, 15 have been discharged after receiving outpatient treatment, while 4 are continuing treatment at Atatürk State Hospital and 2 at Bülent Ecevit Medical Faculty Hospital. Thank God, none of our colleagues are in life-threatening condition. One has a broken leg, and the others have tissue injuries."

Karaloğlu received information from officials at the Provincial Security and Emergency Coordination Center (GAMER) regarding the two landslides that occurred in the same area in Zonguldak.

Making a statement afterward, Karaloğlu said that a landslide occurred around 19:53 in Tulumba Street, Asma Neighborhood, in the central district of Zonguldak, and that a single-story house collapsed due to the landslide, leaving Perihan Çakar (82) and her son Sait Çakar (51) trapped under the debris.

Karaloğlu noted that as soon as the report was received, AFAD, Zonguldak Municipality, gendarmerie, police, health, and UMKE teams, as well as miners from the TTK, arrived at the region and began search and rescue operations.

Stating that rainfall continues in the region and that 21 people from the search and rescue team were injured in a second landslide around 22:00, Karaloğlu said, "Of the 21 injured who were taken to the hospital, 15 have been discharged after receiving outpatient treatment, while 4 are continuing treatment at Atatürk State Hospital and 2 at Bülent Ecevit Medical Faculty Hospital. Thank God, none of our colleagues are in life-threatening condition. One has a broken leg, and the others have tissue injuries."

"WE HAVE BEEN FORCED TO PAUSE SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS"

Regarding the search and rescue operations, Karaloğlu said: "We have currently been forced to pause search and rescue operations. There is still a risk, there is danger. However, we will be able to resume search and rescue operations after sunrise, after 08:00."

"14 HOUSES AT RISK IN THE REGION HAVE BEEN EVACUATED"

Stating that it has been raining continuously in the Zonguldak region for 48 hours and that they learned from Regional Directorate of Meteorology data that 87 kilograms of rain per square meter has fallen so far, Karaloğlu continued:

"Hopefully, we will continue search and rescue operations with the first light of morning, and we hope to recover our two citizens, Perihan Çakar and Sait Çakar, from that area. 14 houses at risk in the region have also been evacuated. 42 citizens were removed from these 14 houses. Our Governor had provided accommodation for these citizens, but our citizens preferred to stay with their relatives. We will continue search operations tomorrow, hopefully, with AFAD teams, municipal teams, TTK teams, our gendarmerie, and our police."

When asked about the efforts to locate those trapped under the first landslide, Karaloğlu said: "When the second landslide occurred, our friends had actually located one of them. The second landslide occurred while they were struggling to extract that person. It is as if we know the location of one. Our friends do not assume that the location has changed much in the second landslide. But we do not have any information about the location of our second citizen at the moment."

Also present during Deputy Minister of Interior Karaloğlu's statement were Zonguldak Governor Osman Hacıbektaşoğlu, Zonguldak AK Party deputies Muammer Avcı and Saffet Bozkurt, CHP Zonguldak Deputy Eylem Ertuğ Ertuğrul, Zonguldak Mayor Ömer Selim Alan, AFAD President Okay Memiş, and AKP Provincial Chairman Mustafa Çağlayan.

News Source: AA