JAKARTA, Feb 27, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – One person was killed and dozens more
were buried in the collapse of an illegal gold mine in Indonesia, the
country’s disaster agency said Wednesday.
Rescuers on the island of Sulawesi scrambled to find survivors in the
rubble after the collapse triggered a landslide on Tuesday evening, the
agency said.
At least one person had been found dead and 15 others were injured in the
Bolaang Mongondow region of North Sulawesi, a statement said.
“When dozens of people were mining for gold at this location, suddenly
beams and supporting boards broke due to unstable soil conditions,” said
disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
“It is estimated that as many as 60 people are buried under the landslide.”
Officials said on Wednesday morning the victims were still responding to
rescuers’ calls but it was not clear how many were still alive.
Efforts to evacuate the victims were being hampered by unstable ground
conditions due to the number of holes dug by the miners.
“We still have hope, when we called them they still responded from down
there, asking for help,” local disaster agency official Abdul Muin Paputungan
said.
Efforts to evacuate the victims are hampered by the ground unstable
condition due to the number of holes dug by the miners.
“We can’t use heavy machinery because the location is very steep … it
could endanger the victims,” Paputungan said.
The country has numerous unlicensed gold mining sites subject to few if any
safety regulations.
In 2016, 11 Indonesian miners died after a mudslide engulfed an illegal
gold mine in Jambi province.
Twelve people were killed in October 2015 when a shaft collapsed after they
tunnelled into a disused mine on Java island looking for finding gold.