Indonesia‘s authorities say rescuers are searching for survivors as more than 60 people are feared buried by the collapse of an illegal gold mine on the island of Sulawesi province.
The country’s disaster agency said in a statement one person had been found dead and 13 people rescued by 5am on Wednesday (22:00 GMT on Tuesday) after the collapse the previous evening at the site in Bolaang Mongondow area of North Sulawesi.
“When dozens of people were mining for gold at the location, suddenly beams and supporting boards they used broke due to unstable land and numerous mining shafts,” disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
Evakuasi puluhan orang penambang emas tanpa ijin yang tertimbun longsor terus dilakukan oleh tim SAR gabungan di areal PETI Desa Bakan Kec Lolayan Kab Bolaang Mongondow Sulut. Data sementara: 1 orang tewas, 13 orang luka, dan puluhan orang masih tertimbun. pic.twitter.com/lH3aZFBBty
— Sutopo Purwo Nugroho (@Sutopo_PN) February 26, 2019
Puluhan orang penambang emas tertimbun longsor di arel Penambangan Emas Tanpa Ijin (PETI) di Desa Bakan Kec Lolayan Kab Bolaang Mongondow Sulut pada 26/2/2019 pukul 21.00 WITA. Data sementara per 05.00 WITA 1 orang tewas, 13 orang luka, dan puluhan orang masih tertimbun. pic.twitter.com/TKY5ewPX55
— Sutopo Purwo Nugroho (@Sutopo_PN) February 26, 2019
Images released by the agency showed rescue workers and local residents on a muddy hillside at night scrambling to pull out survivors and carry them away on stretchers.
“Evacuation efforts continued through the night because of the number of people estimated to be buried,” Nugroho said.
The central government in Jakarta has banned such small-scale gold mining, although regional authorities often turn a blind eye to the practice in more remote areas.
With little regulation, the mines are prone to accidents.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
