Jakarta, Indonesia — A landslide triggered by torrential rains crashed into an unauthorized gold mining operation on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, killing at least 11 people, officials said Monday. Nineteen other people were reported missing.
About 35 villagers were digging for grains of gold on Sunday in a pit at the small traditional gold mine in the remote Bone Bolango district of Gorontalo province when tons of mud fell from the surrounding hills and buried them, Afifuddin said. Ilahude, the Gorontalo Search and Rescue Agency. spokesman.
He said rescuers saved five injured people on Sunday and had recovered 11 bodies on Monday. Rescuers are still searching for 19 other people who were reported missing, she said.
“Relief efforts for the dead and missing were hampered by heavy rain and blocked roads covered in thick mud and debris,” Ilahude said. He said rescuers were having difficulty evacuating three of the recovered bodies.
National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said torrential rains that have hit the area since Saturday also burst an embankment, causing flooding of up to three meters (10 feet) in five villages in Bone Bolango. Almost 300 houses were affected and more than 1,000 people have fled in search of safety.
Informal mining operations are common in Indonesia and provide a precarious livelihood for thousands of people working in conditions with a high risk of serious injury or death.
Landslides, floods and tunnel collapses are just some of the dangers miners face. Much of gold ore processing involves highly toxic mercury and cyanide, and workers often use little or no protection.
The country’s last major mining-related accident occurred in April 2022, when a landslide crashed into an illegal traditional gold mine in the Mandailing Natal district of North Sumatra, killing 12 women. They were looking for gold.
In February 2019, a makeshift wooden structure at an illegal gold mine in North Sulawesi province collapsed due to ground movement and the large number of mine shafts. More than 40 people were buried and died.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
