Miners buried alive in Pongkor

BOGOR (JP): One person died and at least 20 others were buried alive under thick mud when a landslide struck on Wednesday afternoon the Pongkor gold mine here.

The victims were allegedly illegal gold miners who had been operating in the area for some time. The fatality, identified as Aman, 35, was one of 40 traditional diggers who dug the walls of mud looking for gold.

Aman died en route to the PMI Hospital later on Wednesday night after sustaining massive injuries. One of his feet was severed during the excavation.

"We managed to pull Aman out of the mud, but it was hard to save the others as they were in too deep," said Karma, one of the rescuers.

About 20 other diggers managed to escape the landslide which hit without warning at about 3 p.m. on Wednesday. The group persisted in quarrying the unstable walls of mud during a heavy downpour.

The diggers were working at a 10-meter depth on an old well, which was estimated to be 40 meters to 60 meters deep.

The recovery of bodies has been made difficult because access to the site is on a long, narrow, slippery track.

"It's almost impossible to save the others. It happens all the time. So unfortunate diggers were usually left engulfed (in the mud). It's a common thing here," Karma said.

For several years, poorly equipped gold miners have risked their lives digging shafts in the Pongkor area to collect earth from which gold is extracted.

The Pongkor mountain has since become a mass grave for scores of illegal miners.

However, this has not stopped workers who are willing to take their places. They travel to the site from the West Java towns of Sukabumi, Pelabuhan Ratu and other provinces such as Lampung and North Sumatra. (21/edt)