At least 15 people are dead and 7 are missing after heavy rains triggered a landslide in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province, collapsing an illegal gold mine. Rescue workers are searching for the missing.
Provincial Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Ilham Wahab said the landslide occurred in a remote area of Sumatra island on Thursday evening after heavy rains.
Such accidents occur frequently in Indonesia due to small-scale and illegal mining. Even the remoteness of mineral resources makes it difficult for the authorities to control them.
The rescuers had to travel for eight hours to reach the place, which is impassable by road. According to Irwan’s estimate, there were at least 25 people in the mine at the time of the incident.
15 of them were killed, three injured and seven missing. The police and army launched a search for the missing people early on Friday morning.