JAKARTA: An unlicensed gold mine collapsed in Indonesia's Central Kalimantan province on Thursday evening, killing three miners with seven others feared dead, reports Xinhua news agency quoted a senior official of the local disaster agency on Friday.
The tragedy took place when the 10 miners were working at an underground site of up to 60 metres in depth in Sungai Seribu in the Kotawaringin Barat district, according to Martogi Siahaan, head of the logistics department at the local disaster management agency.
"Suddenly landslides occurred in the underground site with water coming into the site. All the miners were buried by the soil," he told Xinhua via phone.
Rescue workers have recovered two bodies of the deceased miners and located another body buried under debris, Siahaan said.
Soldiers, and rescue workers from the local search and rescue office, disaster agency personnel and volunteers are still trying to find survivors, if any, according to the official.
Two other miners escaped the collapse, who were then at the mouth of the underground site, Siahaan added.
The Indonesian government has banned the operation of unlicensed mines following many accidents that have killed dozens of miners. Besides, the unlicensed mining activities often lead to deforestation that would trigger flashflood.
