A landslide triggered by torrential rains has hit an unlicensed gold mining operation on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, killing at least 12 people, authorities said.
Dozens of other people were reported missing.
More than 100 villagers were digging for gold grains in the remote Bone Bolango district of Gorontalo province on Sunday when tonnes of mud poured down the surrounding hills and buried their makeshift camps, search and rescue chief Heriyanto said.
He said 44 people managed to escape the landslide, some of whom were pulled out alive by rescuers, including six injured.
Twelve bodies have been found, including those of three women and a four-year-old boy. Forty-eight others are missing, he added.
Relief official Afifuddin Ilahude said: “Rescue efforts for the dead and missing have been hampered by heavy rains and blocked roads covered in thick mud and debris.”
National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said torrential rains in the area since Saturday also broke a dam, causing floods of up to 3 metres in five villages in Bone Bolango. Nearly 300 homes were affected and more than 1,000 people fled to safety.
Informal mining operations are common in Indonesia, providing precarious livelihoods for thousands of people who work in conditions that pose a high risk of serious injury or death.
Heavy rains triggered a landslide in South Sulawesi, killing at least 18 people in April.
Torrential rains in May triggered flash floods and mudslides, killing more than 50 people in West Sumatra province.
