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Boy drowns in abandoned mining pit in East Kalimantan
Nationwide, at least 117 people have drowned in abandoned mining pits since 2011, with 35 cases reported in East Kalimantan alone.
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An unreclaimed mining pit in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, where the body of a drowned 10-year-old boy was found. (Courtesy of Jatam/-)
T
he body of a 10-year-old boy named Ahmad Setiawan was found on Saturday afternoon in a water-filled pit in Pinang village in Samarinda, East Kalimantan. The pit is believed to be an abandoned mining site.
“The victim’s body was found at around 4:30 p.m., not far from the edge of the pit,” said Pradarma Rupang, an environmentalist with the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) East Kalimantan.
He added that Setiawan was the 35th person to have drowned in an unreclaimed mining site in the province since 2011. Three weeks ago, a 12-year-old junior high school student also died in a similar accident.
There are no warning signs near the pit. The provincial administration only issued a circular letter last month to call on mining companies to install fences around their former mining sites to prevent similar incidents from recurring.
“Only God knows when these kinds of incidents will stop. The authorities must take firm action from now on,” Rupang said.
Nationwide, at least 117 people have drowned in abandoned mining pits since 2011, with 35 cases reported in East Kalimantan alone.
“In Samarinda, 21 cases have been recorded, while 12 cases have been recorded in Kutai Kurtanegara, and one each in Penajam Paser Utara and Kutai Barat,” Rupang added. (vny)
