A devastating landslide triggered by heavy rains struck an unauthorized gold mining site on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, resulting in the deaths of at least 11 individuals, officials confirmed on Monday. Nineteen others remain unaccounted for following the disaster.
The incident occurred in the remote Bone Bolango district of Gorontalo province on Sunday, where approximately 35 villagers were engaged in small-scale gold mining operations. As they worked in a pit, torrential mudslides cascaded down surrounding hills, burying them under tons of mud and debris, recounted Afifuddin Ilahude, spokesperson for Gorontalo’s Search and Rescue Agency.
Rescue efforts, hindered by persistent heavy rains and obstructed roads choked with mud and debris, managed to save five injured individuals on Sunday. By Monday, rescuers had recovered 11 bodies, with efforts ongoing to locate and rescue the 19 still missing, Ilahude added.
Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency, highlighted that relentless rainfall since Saturday had also breached an embankment, leading to floods up to 3 meters high in five villages within Bone Bolango. The catastrophe affected nearly 300 houses, compelling over 1,000 people to seek safer grounds.
Indonesia, known for its prevalent informal mining activities, provides a fragile livelihood to many, despite the perilous conditions involving substantial risks of injury or death. Hazards such as landslides, flooding, and tunnel collapses are frequent occurrences. Moreover, the extraction and processing of gold ore often involve hazardous substances like mercury and cyanide, with miners frequently lacking adequate protection.
This tragedy echoes previous incidents in Indonesia’s mining sector, notably a landslide at an illegal traditional gold mine in North Sumatra in April 2022, which claimed the lives of 12 women, and a collapse at a makeshift mine in North Sulawesi in February 2019, where over 40 individuals perished due to shifting soil and the extensive network of mining holes.
