Miners buried alive in Pongkor mountain

BOGOR (JP): Rescue workers and local villagers on Sunday temporarily halted the search for bodies of illegal gold miners thought to be buried in a landslide on Monday beneath the mud of Pongkor mountain.

So far, rescue workers, including those from the military and PT Aneka Tambang, which officially has the right to operate the gold mine at Nanggung subdistrict here, have unearthed at least 26 dead bodies.

Locals believe that at least 11 others are buried under the mud.

About 37 people were working at two separate mine sites in Cepu and Ciurug when heavy rains hit the area and loosened the walls of mud.

The landslide was reportedly so disastrous because the many mineshafts were not adequately reinforced, making the hillside very unstable.

Under heavy rain, rescue workers had unearthed 10 bodies from Cepu quarry and 16 from Ciurug as of Thursday night.

Among the victims identified were Uti, Aat, Basri, Iben, Barot, Icang, Ayut, Asep, Iip and Kokon. The workers reportedly have been quarrying in Pongkor for quite some time.

The bodies were reportedly brought back to their families without being taken to hospital.

Most of the illegal gold miners came from West Java towns such as Pelabuhan Ratu and Sukabumi.

The recovery of bodies has been made difficult because access to the site was along a narrow, slippery track.

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 become a mass grave for scores of illegal miners over the past few years. However, this has not stopped others filling their places.

The number of miners increased last year when the rupiah nose- dived, forcing gold in the local market to a decade high.

Bogor Police chief Lt. Col. Ade Husein was not available for comment on the incident. (21/edt)