ANKARA, Turkey -- Officials say a rescue operation is underway to find 13 miners still missing after a copper mine collapsed in southeastern Turkey.

Rescuers have recovered the bodies of three miners who died when the privately owned mine near the town of Sirvan, in Siirt province caved in late on Thursday.

On Friday, families watched as rescue teams searched for the workers who were buried along with trucks and other machines.

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The Siirt governor’s office said an investigation has been launched but authorities believe a landslide triggered by heavy rains caused the mine collapse.

In 2014,301 miners were killed in a fire inside a coal mine in Soma, western Turkey -- the nation’s worst mining disaster. The tragedy exposed poor safety standards and superficial government inspections in Turkey’s mines.