Jakarta – The government sent heavy equipment in its mission to rescue dozens of miners trapped in an unauthorized mine in Bolaang Mongondow, North Sulawesi to speed up the evacuation, following an accident that killed eight people.
Rescuers previously worked with spades and bare hands to clear debris, fearing that a wrong move could cause further problems. However, authorities feared those trapped inside were dead, so they decided to deploy heavy equipment after consulting with the victims' families, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said.
A rescued worker identified as Tedi Mokodompit, who underwent an amputation to get out of the mine, did not survive, a release from the BNPB said Friday.
As of Friday noon, the search and rescue team had removed 28 people from the mine, of which 20 had survived. It was estimated that about 60 people were trapped inside, meaning there were still about 30 people inside as of Friday noon.
BNPB spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the landslide in the unregistered gold mine happened at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, when the mine's supporting beams and planks collapsed on account of unstable soil conditions. (gis)