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Authorities end search for 8 miners trapped in illegal Banyumas gold mine
A search and rescue operation has been called off after seven days of trying to help eight miners who became trapped last Tuesday when an illegal gold mine flooded in Banyumas, Central Java.
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Search and rescue personnel insert a hose on July 26, 2023 to drain water from an illegal gold mine in Pancurendang village, Banyumas, Central Java, during an operation to rescue eight miners who became trapped the previous day when the shaft suddenly flooded. (AFP/Dida Nuswantara)
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unit of the local search and rescue agency (Basarnas) on Tuesday called off its search for eight miners who have been trapped for the past week in an illegal gold mine in Banyumas regency, Central Java, ending any hopes of finding them alive.
On the evening of July 25, the eight miners were digging at a depth of 60 meters in a shaft at the illegal mine in Pancurendang village when it was suddenly flooded.
Rescuers had deployed pumps around the clock and worked to dam a nearby river in a frantic bid to drain water from the mine shaft, which remained flooded on Sunday.
The search and rescue (SAR) operation was in its seventh day on Tuesday, when the shaft was still flooded, with a slim possibility of finding any survivors, said Adah Sudarsa, SAR mission coordinator at Basarnas Cilacap.
“[The operation is] no longer effective because it has entered its seventh day. There have been signs of [fatalities] since the first day," Adah said on Tuesday, as quoted by Kompas.com.
“Everything inside the mine is flooded […] there is no place to shelter inside," he added.
The miners’ families gathered on Tuesday and tossed flowers into the mine to honor them, reported various media outlets.
