Dead miners worked illegally: Company
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned PT Aneka Tambang explained yesterday that the five men who were killed at the Pongkor gold mine in Bogor on Saturday were not its employees.
"The victims were not in any way connected to PT Aneka Tambang," the mining company said in a three-paragraph statement received by The Jakarta Post at 6:54 p.m.
According to the company, the accident at its project site, which was in the process of being closed down, was primarily due to the unauthorized activities of the illegal gold miners.
The men were acting "without the prior knowledge of PT Aneka Tambang," the statement, which was sent by the public relations firm Inke Maris & Associates, said.
Executives of Aneka Tambang were not available for further comment.
But a reliable company source said that the mine shaft, which caved in during the accident, did not belong to Aneka Tambang.
"The shaft was made by the illegal miners themselves," the source, who asked for anonymity, said.
The five miners were killed early on Saturday morning and their bodies were recovered the following day. Two other miners were injured in the accident.
In yesterday's release, the company also expressed its regret over the accident and promised to ensure "close supervision of the site".
But controlling 4,058 hectares of Aneka Tambang's concession land is not an easy job and the rough terrain tends to hamper the movement of personnel, the release said.
The head of Nanggung subdistrict, Dadan Mulyadi, told the Post on Sunday night that the five victims were part of a team of 11 night shift workers from Aneka Tambang.
He said that during their 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift, seven members of the team were assigned to work in the shaft. Two miners managed to scramble free of the shaft and suffered minor injuries.
"Heavy rain a few hours prior to the accident caused a landslide at the site," he said.
The five miners were buried inside the shaft which was located on a 590-meter-high hill near the Bantar Karet village, about 80 kilometers west of Bogor.
Dadan also said that he had been informed by Aneka Tambang that all of the miners were insured.
Aneka Tambang's executives were unavailable for comment over the weekend.
In the press release yesterday, the company said the accident had "no adverse effect" on business operations and gold production at the site.
But the firm called on other illegal miners at the site to "discontinue illegal mining activities which disregard safety measures and are dangerous to their lives and the environment as well". (bsr)