Rescue operations are hampered by an area subject to landslides and rock falls. A dozen people extracted so far, but their conditions unknown. Rescue operation carried out by managers of U.S. company that owns the quarry. No independent observers are in the area.

Jakarta (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Four people are dead and dozens missing after the collapse yesterday of a gold and copper mine in the eastern Indonesian province of Papua. Rescue workers are still engaged in recovery operations, which have so far allowed the extraction of 10 miners from the quarry owned by a U.S. company, but there are still about thirty workers missing. In a statement the managers of the mine claim that "rescue operations are difficult and will take some time to complete," adding that the "thoughts and prayers" of the owners goes to the workers and their families.

The accident occurred yesterday morning at the American owned Freeport's Grasberg mine, in Mimika district, a remote area of ​​Papua province, in the eastern part of the archipelago. At the time of the tunnel collapse, there were about 40 employees inside the quarry.

The conditions of the ten people pulled alive from the mine are unknown, because the coordination and management of disaster relief is in the hands of those in charge of the Freeport's Grasberg mine and there are no foreign journalists and independent observers in the area. The difficulties in the rescue are due to the particular land formation subject to continuous landslides and incessant falling of rocks and boulders.

The U.S. company employs about 24 thousand employees. Some of them went on strike in 2011 for three months, demanding a wage increase and better working conditions. The miners resumed operations after achieving a wage increase close to 40%, coupled with additional benefits.

Papua province contains some of the most important reserves of gold and copper on Earth. However, the area is the scene of tensions between the central government and the local governments which have often resulted in clashes that have led Jakarta to ban the area to foreigners and international observers. At the time of colonialism, Papua was under Dutch influence, but was never "occupied" at a political level. The eastern province, formerly known as Irian Jaya, is rich in natural resources and was the scene of a violent military campaign in the days of Sukarno, which resulted in its annexation in 1969. The iron fist used by the Suharto regime between 1967 and 1998 and the massive invasion of foreign and Indonesian multinationals have generated the emergence of a separatist movement. The current name was confirmed in 2002 by former President Abdurrahman Wahid.

 

• indonesia
• copper
• mines
• collapse
• independene
• rescue
• US
• company