At least nine people have been trapped in a gold mine in Turkey’s northwestern province of Erzincan, the mayor of the homonymous town said today.

The exact number of people trapped underground is, however, not known, Erzincan Mayor Bekir Akshun added, the mayor of Erzincan told the private Turkish television network NTV.

“There is no news about nine miners.

A rescue operation is underway with a 400 rescue team,” Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said, according to Turkish media.

The landslide occurred at around 14:00 local time (13:00 GMT) in Ilic, within Erzincan province, and rescue teams from neighboring towns were sent to the site, the state-run Afad disaster management agency said.

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“We will mobilise all our resources to unravel the causes of this incident,” the company responsible for the Anagold gold mine said.

Landslides or mine collapses occur frequently in parts of Turkey.

In an explosion that occurred in 2022, 42 miners were killed in Amasra, in the north of the country.