At least 15 people died when an illegal gold mine collapsed in the Indonesian province of West Sumatra following a landslide caused by heavy rain, an official said on Friday, as rescuers battled to locate seven missing people. .
Illegal and small-scale mining has frequently caused accidents in Indonesia, where mineral resources are located in remote areas in conditions that are difficult for authorities to regulate.
The illegal gold mine in Solok district collapsed after a landslide on Thursday night due to heavy rains, said Irwan Efendi, head of the provincial disaster agency.
Rescuers must walk eight hours to reach the site, which is inaccessible by road, Irwan told Reuters, adding: “The victims are the villagers who extract gold manually.”
He estimated that there were probably 25 people in the mine at the time of the incident, of whom 15 died, while three were injured and seven are missing.
Police and the military launched a search for the missing on Friday morning, along with measures to remove the dead.
This content was originally published in Gold mine collapse in Indonesia leaves 15 dead on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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