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Four gold miners killed in Tasikmalaya landslide and flood
Four traditional gold miners in Kampung Cikahurip, Pasir Mukti village, Cineam district, Tasikmalaya, were buried in a landslide that caused their mine to flood on Tuesday
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our traditional gold miners in Kampung Cikahurip, Pasir Mukti village, Cineam district, Tasikmalaya, were buried in a landslide that caused their mine to flood on Tuesday.
A search and rescue (SAR) team managed to recover the bodies of the four dead miners -- Ayut, 40, Ijen, 42, Nunu, 37, and Tatam, 35, -- on Wednesday.
A rescue operation, which involved the Tasikmalaya Disaster Volunteers Forum (FRBT), members of the Tasikmalaya Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), Cineam Police precinct personnel and local residents, was launched Tuesday afternoon, but was halted at nightfall.
Uman, a local resident, found Ayut's body lying 30 meters deep inside the mining tunnel when the rescue operation continued on Wednesday morning. The SAR team subsequently recovered the body.
'The other three bodies were found not far from Ayut's body. We started to recover the remains of the victims one at a time at 11 a.m. local time,' Cineam precinct chief Adj. Comr. Suharto said, as quoted by tribunnews on Thursday.
He said the tunnel was very narrow, hampering the recovery process. Fears of new landslides complicated the rescue efforts as well.
Uman said gold miners in Cineam have been using traditional, but unsafe methods of digging gold for decades.
He said eight miners were digging gold-containing materials in a location as deep as 30 meters when waters suddenly flooded the tunnel.
Four miners dashed to the surface and survived the incident, while the four others were trapped in the flooded tunnel.
Former Pasir Mukti village head Sopandi said most residents of the village depend on traditional gold mining for their livelihoods. 'With few employment opportunities available, they have to work as a traditional gold miners to cover their daily basic needs. They only get around 20 to 50 milligrams of gold per dig.'
He said the miners had intended to leave their village to earn their livings on Sumatra after the Idul Fitri festivity. (hak/ebf)
