For the first few days the team had to dig by hand to reach survivors because of the precarious conditions. It is unclear how many miners were inside the shafts at the time of the accident as survivors had given varying tallies. The accident happened in the Bolaang Mongondow region of North Sulawesi, where five miners were killed in December after a similar illegal gold mine accident. Mineral-rich Indonesia has scores of unlicensed mines — many with complete disregard for even the most basic of safety procedures. In 2016, 11 miners died after a mudslide engulfed an illegal gold mine in Sumatra’s Jambi province.

Source: The Express Tribune March 06, 2019 05:48 UTC