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View all search resultsFreeport recovers five more bodies, ending rescue efforts at Grasberg mine
The mining giant recovered on Sunday the bodies of five remaining workers who went missing on Sept. 8, bringing an end to a nearly monthlong search and rescue effort for seven total workers, all confirmed deceased.
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Members of Freeport Indonesia’s mine rescue team continue to search for five workers trapped underground in the Grasberg Block Cave at the company’s copper and gold mine in Mimika regency, Central Papua, in this undated handout photo from September 2025. (Antara/Freeport Indonesia/Handout/Antara/Freeport Indonesia/Handout)
T
he mining giant recovered on Sunday the bodies of five remaining workers who went missing on Sept. 8, bringing an end to a nearly monthlong search and rescue effort with all seven workers confirmed deceased.
Mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) announced on Sunday that the bodies of five additional workers had been recovered, following a 27-day search and rescue operation for seven workers who became trapped underground last month during a mudflow incident at its Grasberg copper and gold mine in Tembagapura, Mimika regency, Central Papua.
The bodies of two workers, identified as Wigih Hartono and Irawan, were recovered on Sept. 20.
On Sept. 8, around 800,000 tonnes of wet material flooded one of five sections in the Grasberg Block Cave (GBC) where the seven men were working, cutting off access and restricting possible evacuation routes.
The five workers have been identified as Zaverius Magai, Holong Gembira Silaban, Dadang Hermanto, Balisang Telile and Victor Bastida Ballesteros, all employees of mining contractor PT Redpath Indonesia.
The bodies of Holong, Dadang, Balisang and Victor will be flown via Jakarta to their hometowns for burial, while Zaverius will be laid to rest in Kuala Kencana district of regency capital Timika, according to a company statement.
“They were friends and part of the Freeport Indonesia family. This loss brings deep sorrow to all of us,” PTFI president director Tony Wenas said in a statement on Monday.
