Indonesia mine collapse: race to rescue dozens trapped below ground
Excavators brought in despite landslide risk as miners enter fourth day in buried pit
Rescue workers in Indonesia are racing against time to reach dozens of miners who have been trapped underground for four days after an illegal gold mine collapsed.
The unauthorised pit, in the Bolaang Mongondow area of North Sulawesi province, caved in on Tuesday evening, burying dozens of workers inside. The collapse triggered a landslide, further hampering rescue efforts, the BBC reports.
At least eight miners have been confirmed to have died. A further 27 men have been rescued from the site but many have sustained serious injuries, officials said. One man was pulled out alive but died on the way to hospital.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Hope is now fading for the remaining survivors trapped underground - thought to number at least three dozen - as oxygen levels run low.
Until today, “search teams had been forced to use spades and even bare hands”, amid fears “that a wrong move involving heavy equipment could make the situation worse”, reports Paris-based news network France 24.
But with time running out, officials this morning authorised the use of excavators.
“We were afraid to use it because it might trigger another landslide or send debris tumbling onto the trapped miners,” disaster official Abdul Muin Paputungan told Agence France-Presse.
“But now we’ve got the permission from their family members to use it, despite the risks.”
Yasti Soepredjo, head of the Bolaang Mongondow region, told the BBC that the unauthorised nature of the mine made it difficult to be sure how many people were still trapped inside.
"Based on statements from people who survived, the numbers are inconsistent. Some say there were more than 100 in the mine, some said about 80,” he said. “We are still in the dark when it comes to the actual number.”
“Resource-rich Indonesia has a patchy record on mining safety, particularly small-scale unlicensed mines,” reports Reuters.
Another illegal mine collapse in Sulawesi in December resulted in the deaths of five miners.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Artworks stolen by Nazis returned to heirs of cabaret performer
It wasn't all bad Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published