At least 15 people were killed when a gold mine collapsed following a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Indonesia’s Sumatra province. At least seven people are missing as rescue officials struggle to find them. The illegal gold mine in Solok district collapsed Thursday evening after heavy rain triggered a landslide, said Ervan Effendi, head of the provincial disaster agency. Irwan told Reuters that rescue workers had to travel eight hours to reach the site, which is inaccessible by road. He said the victims were residents who mine gold by hand.” He estimated there were probably 25 people in the mine at the time of the incident, of whom 15 died, while three were injured and seven were missing. Police And the army began searching for the missing on Friday, as well as taking steps to recover the dead.
Also read: 15 people killed in landslide at illegal gold mine in Indonesia
Small-scale and illegal mining often leads to accidents in Indonesia, where mineral resources are located in remote areas that are difficult for authorities to regulate. Villagers were searching for gold grains when they were buried by a landslide on the island of Sumatra on Thursday. Torrential rains in July triggered a landslide into an unauthorized gold mine on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, killing at least 23 people. More than 100 people were digging for gold in a small traditional gold mine in remote Bon Bolango in Gorontalo province when tons of soil fell from the surrounding hills, burying them.
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Landslides, floods and tunnel collapse are some of the dangers faced by miners. Gold ore processing uses highly toxic mercury and cyanide, and workers often use little or no protection. The country’s last major mining-related disaster occurred in April 2022, when a landslide struck an illegal traditional gold mine in North Sumatra’s Mandeling Natal district, killing 12 gold prospecting women.
