Rescue operations continue in Erzincan, in the northeast, four days after a landslide trapped nine people working in a gold mine. While the chances of finding them alive are considered very slim, the Turkish government announced this Saturday that it had withdrawn the environmental permit for the mine.
The ministry adds that the earth carried by the enormous landslide – which is feared to be contaminated by cyanide used to extract gold – would be removed and “ stored» elsewhere temporarily. The fear is that toxic materials will flow into the Euphrates, located 300 meters as the crow flies from the site.