A landslide triggered by torrential rains has hit an unauthorised gold mining operation on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, killing at least 12 people.
JAKARTA, Indonesia – A landslide triggered by torrential rains hit an unauthorized gold mine on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, killing at least 12 people, authorities said Monday. Dozens more are 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, said Heriyanto, head of the search and rescue office.
He said 44 people had managed to escape the landslide, some of them rescued alive by rescuers, including six injured, and 12 bodies had been recovered, including three women and a four-year-old boy. Another 48 people were missing, he added.
“Rescue efforts for the dead and missing have been hampered by heavy rains and blocked roads covered in thick mud and debris,” said relief official Afifuddin Ilahude.
Abdul Muhari, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency, said torrential rains in the area since Saturday also broke a dam, causing flooding of up to 3 meters (10 feet) 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.
Landslides, floods and tunnel collapses are just some of the hazards miners face. Much of the gold ore processing involves highly toxic mercury and cyanide, and workers often use little or no protection.
The country’s last major mining accident occurred in April 2022, when a landslide crashed into an illegal traditional gold mine in Mandailing Natal district, North Sumatra, killing 12 women panning for gold.
In February 2019, a makeshift wooden structure at an illegal gold mine in North Sulawesi province collapsed due to ground movement and the large number of mining holes. More than 40 people were buried and died.
