Sulawesi, illegal mine collapses leaving at least three dead, over 60 trapped
Miners caught out by collapse of inadequate tunnel scaffolding. By 8 o'clock this morning, the bodies of the victims recovered and 15 people rescued. The authorities are confident that they will find many missing people alive: rescue teams hear their voices.
Jakarta (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Dozens of rescuers are working relentlessly with ropes and picks to save over 60 people, who are feared to have been buried by the collapse last night in an illegal gold mine on the island of Sulawesi, between Borneo and the Moluccas islands. The authorities report that at the moment the victims of the accident are at least three.
Rescue teams claim they can hear the voices of some of those trapped in the impromptu mining pits of a muddy hill, in the regency of Bolaang Mongondow (North Sulawesi province). The authorities are confident of finding many of the missing people alive.
Abdul Muin Paputungan, a local official of the National Agency for Disaster Mitigation (BNPB), said: "We are able to say that many of them are still alive because we can hear their voices. There are some points in the mine where the air comes in and out and there are pockets in the mud".
The last BNPB bulletin reports that at 8 this morning, rescuers had recovered the bodies of at least three victims and rescued 15 people. Supported by the military, search and rescue teams use simple tools because conditions remain dangerous due to possible landslides.
Paputungan reports that the families of victims and missing have already begun to gather at the mining site to await news. BNPB spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the miners were engaged in gold mining, when beams and support boards of the mine suddenly gave way.
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03/01/2019 17:04
