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AKARTA: A local resident was killed during a mining accident at an illegal sand quarry in Cisauk, Tangerang, on Thursday.

Cisauk Police chief Insp. Wempy Santoso said that the victim, Wanto, 35, died after a hole in the quarry caved in due to heavy downpours.

Police said that there could be more victims buried in the mine.

“We have just evacuated the body of this victim and we are still looking for other possible victims,” he said.

Wempy said that his personnel received an alert from locals about the mining accident, soon after it rained.

Police, however, could not confirm if the sand quarry, where most locals were employed, was indeed illegal.

“Let’s see, if the sand mining sites are illegal, then we will certainly shut them down,” he said.

Wempy said he was unaware about any bylaws regulating sand mining activities in the area. — JP