The Indonesian authorities fear that a further hundred people may be trapped in a collapsed mine on the island of Sulawesi. Rescue workers are still busy looking for survivors of the disaster.
The illegal gold mine collapsed on Tuesday, causing an unknown number of miners to be buried. Up to now, nineteen miners have been rescued and nine bodies have been recovered. The rescue work is complicated by the bad terrain with steep slopes.
The collapse of the illegal gold mine was caused by the breaking of support beams, a spokesman said last week. They had become unstable due to the large number of corridors. In the mine, dozens of gold miners were at work at that time.
Stuck under rocks
Rescue workers have used an excavator to rescue the miners. It is expected that dozens of people are still stuck under rocks and beams. The intention is to continue looking for victims until tomorrow, reported Reuters news agency.
According to rescue workers, there is a risk of landslides in the area. “The rescue workers keep hoping that everyone who is still in the mine can be saved alive,” it said. Some victims have received water and food, but there is a fear that the oxygen in certain parts of the mine is rapidly decreasing.