The first mine rescue competition in Turkey was organized by the Turkish Miners Association. Five rescue teams working in different mines competed under the supervision of international referees with realistic scenarios between September 10-13.

The Turkish Miners Association organized the first mine rescue competition in Izmir. The National Mine Search and Rescue Competition was held at the Tüprag Efemçukuru Gold Mine Operation in Izmir between September 10-13, 2019. 5 competitors and 3 observer teams participated in the Mine Rescue Competition. Çayeli Bakır, Esan Eczacıbaşı, Koza Altın, TKİ and Tüprag participated as competitors, while TÜMAD, İmbat Mining and Polyak participated as observers.

In the three-day competition, teams competed in the following categories: Overall 1st Team, Overall 2nd Team, Overall 3rd Team, Best Underground Search and Rescue Team, Best Captain, Best First Aid, Best Team Safety, Best Breathing Apparatus Skills, Best First Aid Team, Best Vehicle Accident Rescue Team, Best Fire Extinguishing Team, Best Team Skills Team, Most Gentlemanly Team, Best Referee Committee, and Best Team Spirit.

Çayeli Copper Enterprises, which was successful in 5 categories, finished the competition in first place.

Çayeli Bakır İşletmeleri Mine Rescue Team consists of 35 people and is trained and certified in accordance with the requirements of the Canadian Ontario Mine Rescue Training System. Çayeli Bakır operates in the north-east of Turkey and since there are not many mining companies around, it has designed its emergency response capacity to be self-sufficient.

The Mine Rescue Team is experienced in responding to natural disasters and industrial accidents as well as mining accidents. The team actively participated in search and rescue operations after the Van Erciş earthquake in 2011 and was able to rescue two people alive from under the rubble after long hours.

In the competition;

Best Team Spirit ESAN, Best Referee Committee Underground Search / Rescue, Most Gentlemanly Team TKİ, Best Team Skills Çayeli Bakır, Best Fire Extinguishing Team Tüprag, Best Vehicle Accident Rescue Team Çayeli Bakır, Best First Aid Team Koza, Best Breathing Apparatus Skills Team Tüprag, Best Team Safety Team Çayeli Bakır, Best First Aid Koza, Best Captain Tüprag, Best Underground Search and Rescue Team Çayeli Bakır, General 3rd Team Koza, General 2nd Team Tüprag, General 1st Team Çayeli Bakır.

At the gala dinner held on the last day, plaques were presented to the sponsor companies and awards were presented to the competing teams.