The Turkish mining industry, which has been at the forefront to heal the wounds of all natural disasters experienced in Turkey so far, has accomplished many miracles after two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7,7 and 7,6 in Kahramanmaraş. After the studies they carried out, it became clearer that the miners were natural search and rescue workers and that they should be transferred to the region immediately without losing time in natural disasters.
While the miners from Zonguldak saved the life of 8-year-old Gülsüm Yeşilkaya by descending to a depth of 17 meters in Adıyaman, the miners working in the debris destroyed by the earthquake in Hatay managed to get İbrahim Halil and Ayla Halil couple alive from the rubble after 88 hours and 10 hours of work. 7-year-old Solin in Adıyaman was another earthquake survivor, who survived thanks to the miners. Soma miners pulled out 15 of our citizens alive from the rubble in Samandag. While the miners were pulling 11-year-old Lena and her mother out of the rubble 10 hours after the earthquake with 160 hours of work, the miners in Gaziantep reached Ikranur at the end of 6 days. In Hatay, miners rescued a mother and her baby from rubble 110 hours later. At the end of the 152nd hour in Adıyaman, search and rescue and miners brought out two siblings, one woman and one child, alive. In Elbistan, 4 people were rescued alive by the miners from Soma. The miners from Rize saved 11 people, one of them a baby, in Kahramanmaraş. The miners from İzmir performed a miracle by rescuing two people who were under the rubble for 107 and 127 hours. These are just a few examples.
Rüstem Çetinkaya, Chairman of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) Mining Industry Board and Istanbul Mineral Exporters' Association (İMİB), said, “After the earthquake disaster that deeply injured Turkey, we acted immediately as the mining industry. We organized for miners working all over Turkey to move to the region. Mining companies also mobilized to send all construction equipment that could be used in the wreckage to the region. Just as the whole of Turkey became one heart after this great disaster, we, as the mining industry, became one. The struggle of our miners, who went to the region without blinking, still continues. We are grateful for the struggle of our miners in the wreckage, we cannot pay their dues. As the mining industry, we will continue to provide all the support we can.” said.
İbrahim Alimoğlu, Chairman of the Board of the Aegean Mine Exporters Association, said, “Our only agenda since the first day was the earthquake, we closed our quarries and we are in the field with our construction equipment. Some of our miners pressed the start of their new construction equipment for the first time during the earthquake search and rescue operations. Our miners have been pioneers in forest fires and all natural disasters in the past, and they are still with our people under all circumstances. Our miners are the ones who know the dent best and produce the fastest solution. From the moment they reached the earthquake zone, they worked with their heart and self-sacrifice to save many people. We kiss the hands of our 10 thousand miners from all over Turkey. Our miners from all over our country, especially Kozlu, Soma, Armutçuk, Amasra, İzmir and Zonguldak, Turkey is grateful to you” and summarized their views.
Ali Emiroğlu, President of the Turkish Miners Association, said, “Unfortunately, we experienced the biggest disaster of the last century. I really can't find the words to describe the sadness in my heart. I wish God's mercy on those who lost their lives in the earthquake, and a speedy recovery to the injured. I say goodbye to all our citizens. The leaders of our mine search and rescue teams get their teams ready as soon as they hear about such disasters, without waiting for instructions. Right after the earthquake, our Association's OHS Committee coordinated between our member companies, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and AFAD. We, as TMD, formed a 'Crisis Desk' without wasting any time together with our OHS Committee, which also includes the leaders of our search and rescue teams. More than 10 thousand miners from the public and private sectors took part in the earthquake zones. We cannot thank enough our miners who, with superhuman effort, saved our countless lives from the rubble, risking their own lives without blinking. Now, while we mourn our losses, we will work day and night to heal our wounds on the other hand," he said.
Hanifi Şimşek, President of the All Marble Natural Stone and Machinery Manufacturers Association (TUMMER), said, “We are experiencing the pain of the earthquake that caused loss of life and great destruction in 6 provinces on February 10, both as individuals and as a sector, with great sadness. From the first day of the earthquake, our union, regional associations and companies have tried our best to save lives and intervene in the debris. We looked for ways to channel the resources of the marble industry to the earthquake zone, and from the very first day, we tried to direct whatever is available to the region, with the teams we have: bucket, dozer, loader, lorry, lovbed, crane. When we saw the lives that the mining industry, including the marble industry, rescued from almost all the collapsed building debris by the mine rescue teams sent to the region, we experienced the emotions of every person. We are grateful to our mine rescue teams, that their hands should not be troubled, their feet should not be touched by stones. God bless our industry.” said.
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