At least nine workers were trapped after a landslide at a gold mine in Türkiye's eastern Erzincan province on Tuesday, as search and rescue teams continue to save them.

"At least nine people are trapped," Erzincan Mayor Bekir Aksun said.

The landslide at the Çöpler mine happened at 2:30 p.m. local time (1130 GMT) near the town of Ilıç in the mountainous Erzincan province.

Anagold Mining has operated the Çöpler mine since 2009.

In a statement, the company said its "most important priority in this difficult process ... is the health and safety of our employees and contractors."

"This is a painful situation. Immediately after the incident, we immediately contacted our employees in the region, put our emergency plan into action and informed the relevant public institutions and organizations," the statement said.

Images from the scene showed the landslide sweeping across a valley where the workers were believed to have been based at the time.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed that there was no initial news from nine workers.