Indonesian officials warned Monday that as many as 100 miners could still be missing and presumed dead following the collapse of an illegal gold mine on Sulawesi island, after 19 survivors were extracted from the site over the past week.
Rescue teams face significant challenges at the unlicensed mine, including unstable terrain, narrow shafts, and hazardous conditions that have hampered efforts since the disaster occurred last Tuesday. Despite deploying heavy machinery following family requests, workers found no additional survivors after clearing debris from one shaft on Sunday.
National disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho acknowledged conflicting reports about the number of miners present during the incident, with survivors citing figures ranging from 30 to 100. "Some say 30 people, 50, 60 people – even 100 people, because at the time there were many in the main pit... an unknown number in the smaller ones," he stated.
The Bolaang Mongondow region, where the accident occurred, has a history of mining-related fatalities. Five miners died in December 2018 after a similar collapse, while Indonesia's illegal mining sector has repeatedly drawn scrutiny for lax safety standards. Past disasters include a 2016 mudslide in Sumatra that killed 11 miners and a 2015 shaft collapse on Java that claimed 12 lives.
