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leven people were killed Monday night after becoming trapped in a deep, narrow hole at an illegal gold mining site in Pangkalan Jambu district, Merangin regency, Jambi.

All of them were residents of Pangkalan Jambu but their identities are still unknown.

“The mining site was very far. We had to cross a river to get to the location,” said Nawawi, a Pangkalan Jambu resident, on Tuesday.

Witnesses said the 11 miners became trapped inside the narrow 40-meter deep hole they were digging in. While looking for gold ores, their hole eventually connected to another hole that was full of high pressure water.

“Because of the high pressure, they could not save themselves and got trapped inside,” Nawawi added.

As of Thursday noon, the casualties had not been evacuated due to the difficult terrain. Merangin Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Munggaran Kartayuga said his side was still investigating the accident.