Minister Bayraktar: ‘It’s as if we dug a well with a needle. We searched for them as if looking for a needle in a haystack’

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, who attended the funeral prayer of 5 miners trapped underground in İliç, Erzincan, stated, ‘It was like searching for a needle in a haystack. We searched for them as if looking for a needle in a haystack.’ After the funeral prayer held at Terzibaba Mosque in Erzincan center, Minister Bayraktar addressed the journalists and noted that they had gone through a very challenging process. The Minister stated, ‘As you know, after the mining accident that occurred in İliç on February 13, our state mobilized all its capabilities and carried out intensive scanning activities from the first day. It was indeed a very challenging process, a very difficult task. There were 10 million tons of soil. Our 9 citizens in İliç were under that soil. We searched for them as if looking for a needle in a haystack. But from the very beginning, we promised their families, both the people of İliç, Erzincan, and our nation that we would definitely find these brothers. We will deliver them to their families,’ he said. ‘And thankfully, today we are grateful that we were able to keep our promise. We made a great effort in this regard, our colleagues, teams worked intensively with great sacrifice. Our AFAD teams, all our ministries, our colleagues on the field, really showed great dedication, putting their lives on the line, with great sacrifice, they fulfilled this duty. And after about 2 months, we reached our first brother. Then we reached the other brothers, and finally today we fulfilled our last duty by organizing a funeral ceremony for 5 brothers here. But I want to thank all the workers who made efforts with dedication during this period, from the operators to the colleagues observing there. On behalf of our entire nation. I also want to express my gratitude to the families who patiently waited for us. Because it was a very difficult process for them. Every day without news was really hard for them, but they went through this process with great patience because they saw our sincerity and great effort. We informed them at every stage. As you can see, this process was carried out with great maturity and coordination with our deputies, our governor, and all our colleagues. Of course, back then, we used to come together with you and hold briefing meetings. I had mentioned this before. Of course, the priority for us in this incident was to reach those 9 miners from the very first day. As of today, we have completed this process. But immediately after that, especially, we started to take precautions related to the environment here. We took all precautions related to water, cyanide, and thankfully, they proceeded as planned. We have made great progress in the works related to the removal of the soil on the field. So, we are close to the end of that as well. Therefore, we have made significant progress there. Now we have two more steps ahead of us. One of them is to ensure that these families we have been with from the beginning do not experience any grievances. They have suffered a great loss. But now, as a state, we will mobilize all our resources. There are very bright young brothers, our children, among them. We will take all necessary measures regarding their future. We will closely follow up on everything that needs to be done. Another point is, of course, the correct informing of the public about the process we have shared with you from the first day. The administrative and judicial investigation on revealing whoever is at fault in the incident was one aspect. This will continue by our prosecutor’s office. Because you are all following it. But beyond that, both administratively and in terms of investigation, what are the real root causes that led to this incident? They are being understood for the prevention of such a disaster from happening again. Our relevant institutions, ministries are continuing this. But in addition, a research commission was established in our parliament a few weeks ago. There, this issue is being carefully monitored in a comprehensive way. And I am sure that in a short time, probably within a few weeks, that commission will prepare its report and share it with the public.