Missing miners rescued after 19 hours

The incident occurred yesterday evening at Koru Plateau, located on the borders of Kastamonu's Çatalzeytin, Bozkurt, and Taşköprü districts. According to the information obtained, a 5-person team working for a mining company arrived in the region in two groups to conduct mineral exploration and scanning. Erkan E. and İdris A., who were part of the team scanning for minerals near Koru Plateau, lost their way due to the fog and could not reach the meeting point. While searching for the meeting point, Erkan E. entered the Karagöl stream area and was injured after falling from a cliff approximately 300 meters high. His companion, İdris A., who was with Erkan E. after he sustained fractures to his body, went to a location with cell service to call for help. Upon the report, commando units from the Kastamonu Provincial Gendarmerie Command, Gendarmerie Search and Rescue (JAK), Provincial Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) teams, and the National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE) were dispatched to the region. After conducting a reconnaissance in the area, the teams attempted to reach Erkan E. and İdris A. from three different points. The team, accompanied by villagers, managed to reach Erkan E. and İdris A. after 6 hours. The injured Erkan E. received initial medical intervention from the teams.

Due to the rugged terrain, helicopter support was requested to extract Erkan E. and his companion İdris A. A helicopter belonging to the Gendarmerie Special Operations Command (JÖAK) was dispatched to the region, arrived at the Karagöl stream, and airlifted the injured Erkan E. and his companion İdris A. from the area. Erkan E. was taken to the hospital for treatment.

82-year-old Ahmet Özcan, who guided the rescue team, said, "I joined the efforts to show the men the way. I saw where the light was shining. I went with them. I have been out since 9:00 PM. We climbed for 1 kilometer. They had lit a fire, that's how we found them."

Village Headman Cemal Özcan stated that 2 villagers who knew the region accompanied the gendarmerie, AFAD, and UMKE teams, adding, "The missing miners were reached after a 3-hour walk. The helicopter arrived at the scene around 11:00 AM. It picked up our citizens," he said.

Berk Özcan, who also guided the rescue team, said, "We arrived at the scene with the AFAD, UMKE, and JAK teams. We safely transferred the 2 people to the helicopter. Thank God, we arrived here safe and sound. The area was not suitable for the helicopter to land. We prepared a spot where the helicopter could land and got the injured person to the helicopter," he said.

News Source: İHA