JAKARTA – At least seven people were killed and one reported missing after a landslide at an Indonesian gold mine, authorities said today.
Torrential rains triggered a landslide yesterday, inundating the mine with mud mixed with stones and debris in South Solok regency, West Sumatra, said local emergency department head Fikri, who, like many Indonesians, goes by one name.
In a statement, the department said: “At least seven killed and one is missing.”
Rescuers managed to save nine people from the mud, and are combing the area to find the missing miner, said Fikri.
“Initially, rescuers were having difficulties evacuating victims to a rescue vehicle because the terrain at the site was challenging,” he said, but added that in the end, all the survivors were taken to hospital for emergency treatment.
The disaster occurred just two weeks after a landslide hit the Chinese-backed Batang Toru hydropower project in North Sumatra, killing 10 people.
Three were still missing when rescuers ended their search last week.
Fatal landslides and flash floods are common across the country during the rainy season.
Last month, more than 200 people died in a cluster of far-eastern islands and neighbouring Timor Leste when Tropical Cyclone Seroja turned small communities into wastelands of mud and uprooted trees.
Indonesia’s disaster agency estimates 125 million people – nearly half of the country’s population – live in areas at risk of landslides.
The disasters are often caused by deforestation and poor mitigation planning, said environmentalists. – AFP, May 11, 2021
