Indonesia says three killed, another 60 feared buried alive in illegal gold mine collapse
- Rescuers and villagers were scrambling on a muddy hillside at night to pull out survivors and carry them away on stretchers
Indonesian rescuers scrambled Wednesday to find dozens buried in the collapse of an illegal gold mine that killed at least two people, the disaster agency said.
The effort to save survivors at the remote site on Sulawesi island was hampered by steep terrain and unstable soil conditions after the collapse triggered a landslide Tuesday evening, it said in a statement.
Two people were found dead and 14 others were pulled from the rubble alive early on Wednesday, according to officials.
“Dozens of people were mining for gold at this location when suddenly beams and supporting boards broke due to unstable soil conditions,” said disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
Some three dozen people may still be trapped at the site in the Bolaang Mongondow region of North Sulawesi, officials said.
Some of the still-buried victims were responding to rescuers’ calls but it was not clear how many were still alive.