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Gas poisoning suspected to cause death of Freeport worker
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Dig deeper – A vehicle passes through gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia’s (PTFI) mining area in Grasberg, Mimika, Papua. (thejakartapost.com/Nethy Dharma Somba)
A
nother mining accident occurred at the gold and copper mine belonging to mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) in Tembagapura, Mimika, Papua, on Wednesday.
The accident, that took place in the Biggossan area at 00.20 a.m, left Hendry Munardi, 50, dead and two other employees in critical condition.
“The victim allegedly died because of inhaling poisonous gas. The other two workers, Nofi Rizal Fachrudin and Sri Giri Dino Haryanto, are in a stable condition,” Mimika Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Victor D Mackbon told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
"But we have to wait for further investigation to find out the exact cause [of the accident],” he said.
The police have questioned several witnesses. Victor said there were only three workers on duty at the time of the incident.
Hendry’s body was flown to his hometown in Batam, Riau Islands, while Nofi and Sri have been receiving treatment at Tembagapura Hospital.
Read also: Indonesia extends Freeport’s divestment deadline
The area where the incident occurred was temporarily closed to allow police investigators to examine the site. “Other areas in the mine are operating as usual,” he said.
PTFI spokesperson Riza Pratama did not respond to the Post's request for comment on the accident.
