Ten people killed and six missing after quarry collapse in Indonesia, officials say
At least 10 people are dead and six others are missing after a quarry collapsed in Indonesia, officials have said.
The natural stone quarry in the Cirebon district of the country's West Java province collapsed on workers on Friday, leaving more than two dozen people trapped in the rubble, according to local police chief Sumarni, who, like many Indonesians, uses a single name.
The bodies of 10 people have been retrieved, according to Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for Indonesia's national disaster management agency.
Rescuers have also pulled more than a dozen injured people from the debris, six of whom were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Search efforts were hampered by unstable soil that risked further slides and were suspended on Friday evening due to visibility.
The search is set to resume early Saturday, with several excavators and trucks deployed to clear rubble and find the six people who are still missing.
"Authorities are still investigating the cause of the collapse, and we have been questioning the owner and workers of the quarry," Sumarni said.
West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi said he visited the mine before he was elected in late 2024 and identified that it was at risk of collapsing, but he "didn't have any capacity to stop it" at the time.
He said he has now closed the collapsed stone quarry and four other similar mines in West Java that are considered to be endangering the environment and lives.
Illegal or informal mining operations are common in Indonesia, and those working in them face a high risk of injury or death due to landslides, flooding, collapses of tunnels or the use of highly toxic chemicals.
Last year, at least 15 people were killed when a landslide triggered by torrential rain hit an unauthorised gold mining operation on Indonesia's Sumatra island.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Britons accused of smuggling cocaine in Angel Delight sachets could face death penalty
Three Britons could face the death penalty in Bali after appearing in court charged with smuggling nearly a kilogram of cocaine into Indonesia. Jonathan Christopher Collyer and Lisa Ellen Stocker were arrested on 1 February after customs officers stopped them at an X-ray machine after finding suspicious items in their luggage, prosecutors claimed. A lab test result confirmed that 10 sachets of Angel Delight powdered dessert mix in Collyer's luggage and seven similar sachets in his partner's suitcase contained 993.56g, or over 2lbs, of cocaine, worth an estimated 6bn rupiah (£272,000), prosecutor I Made Dipa Umbara told the District Court in the regional capital Denpasar. Phineas Ambrose Float, 31, was arrested two days later after police set up a controlled delivery in which the other two suspects allegedly handed him the drug in the parking area of a hotel in Denpasar. He is being tried separately. The drugs were brought from England to Indonesia via Qatar, Mr Umbara said. The group had successfully brought cocaine into the country twice before, Ponco Indriyo, the deputy director of the Bali Police Narcotics Unit, told reporters in February. The trial was adjourned until next week, when the three-judge panel will hear witness evidence. About 530 people, including 96 foreigners, are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, according to figures from the country's ministry of immigration and corrections. One of them, Briton Lindsay Sandiford, now 69, has been on death row for more than a decade after 3.8kg of cocaine was found in her luggage in 2012. Despite its strict laws, Indonesia is a major drug-smuggling hub, the UN has said, partly because international syndicates target its young population. Just last week, Thomas Parker, from Cumbria, was sentenced to 10 months in jail in Bali for drug offences after a charge that could carry the death penalty was dropped. He was accused of collecting a package containing MDMA from a motorcycle taxi driver on a nearby street. During the police inquiries, the 32-year-old electrician was able to prove he did not order the package but that it was sent by a drug dealer friend, identified only as Nicky, whom Parker had known for about two years and with whom he communicated via the Telegram messaging app. Police reduced the initial charge of drug trafficking, which potentially carries the death sentence, to the less serious offence of hiding information from authorities. An Australian man, Lamar Aaron Ahchee, 43, from Cairns in north Queensland, was arrested on 22 May after police allegedly seized 1.7kg (3.7lbs) of cocaine during a raid on his rented home in Kuta Beach. A police chief said anti-drug surveillance teams reported Ahchee had received two suspicious packages sent by mail to Denpasar from England. He too could face the death penalty.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
News in pictures: Tuesday June 3, 2025
Times picture editors select photos from Britain and around the world — which is your favourite? The Times Fireworks explode at the Arc de Triomphe as PSG's team bus parades through Paris after their Champions League final win over Inter Milan THIBAUD MORITZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES Performers celebrate after the Pancasila Day commemoration at the Pancasila building in Jakarta, marking Indonesia's national ideology based on five founding principles YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES The minaret of a flooded village remains visible from Yuvali in Kayseri, Turkey, which was relocated 40 years ago due to rising waters SERCAN KUCUKSAHIN/ANADOLU/GETTY IMAGES Nick Uhlig and Philipp Oettel race alongside Lukas Erlecke and Leon Freygang during the opening round of the German sidecar championship at the 58th ADAC Motocross in Schopfheim IMAGO/GRANT HUBBS/AVALON Tom Stogdon shapes the final piece of limestone for Albury Ammonite, one of three sculptures he will install at Falconhurst estate in Kent for STONE, a showcase of leading British stone carvers RUSSELL SACH A half moon rises behind the Galata Tower in Istanbul MUHAMMED ABDULLAH KURTAR/ANADOLU/GETTY IMAGES A guide dog puppy mingles with racegoers in elaborate hats at Ascot Racecourse as part of their socialisation training to get used to unusual headwear KIERAN CLEEVES/PA PHIL NOBLE/REUTERS An aerial view of participants in the 15th annual Tomatina festival in Sutamarchan, Colombia, where crowds pelt each other with tomatoes in a messy celebration RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES Meherunnisa Asad's 99 Butterflies on display at Penistone Hill Country Park as part of Wild Uplands, a new series of artworks in Bradford, the UK City of Culture 2025 DANNY LAWSON/PA Jodie Comer, the Emmy-winning star of Killing Eve, is seen in Greenwich Village, New York City THESTEWARTOFNY/GETTY IMAGES An Indonesian K9 officer introduces a police dog to students at a school for children with special needs in Depok, during an educational visit about police units ADI WEDA/EPA A boat trip takes passengers past a float featuring Sweet Kitten, a cat sculpture made of daffodils, during the Daffodil festival in Altaussee, one of Austria's largest folk events BARBARA GINDL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES A North American river otter appears to wave while scratching itself on a dock in Seward, Alaska, during a playful evening with its siblings
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Aussie dad facing jail time in Bali over wild Finns Beach Club brawl issues a desperate plea to the judge
A young Aussie man involved in a carpark brawl outside a world famous beach club in Bali has issued a grovelling plea to the judges who are preparing to sentence him. Mohamed Rifai, 27, from south-west Sydney, will learn on Thursday whether he will spend more time behind bars over the savage melee outside Finns Beach Club in North Kuta in February. He and eight security guards remain in custody over the brawl which involved up to 15 security staff and four other Australian tourists. Rifai appeared in Denpasar District Court on Tuesday, where he addressed the courtroom with an impassioned plea for leniency. It came after the prosecutor recommended a five month sentence. 'I am very, very sorry for my actions at that night,' a remorseful Rifai told the court. 'I am not a rough person. I have a family that I should protect in Australia. 'I beg you to give me the possible lightest sentence.' Rifai was accompanied by his father in court as the judges prepare for sentencing Rifai at one point turned in the courtroom to embrace his father, who has arrived on the holiday island to support him ahead of Thursday's sentencing. Public prosecutor Lovi Pusnawan told the court that Rifai was guilty of assault in violation of article 351, subsection 1, of the Indonesian Criminal Code. He urged the judges to imprison Rifai for five months. The maximum penalty for assault occasioning serious injury is five years' prison in Indonesia. 'We demand the panel of judges to find defendant Mohamed Rifai legally and convincingly guilty on assault charge as regulate in article 351 subsection 1, and demand the panel of judge to sentence the defendant to 5 months imprisonment, minus the time he has already served,' Mr Pusnawan said. The prosecutor considered the injuries caused in the beach club brawl as an aggravating factor. He also considered several mitigating factors, including Rifai's polite nature during the trial, his admission of guilt, displays of remorse, and the 'peace agreement' between himself and the alleged victims. Rifai's lawyer Sabam Antonius read Rifai's defence statement in response. 'We respectfully request the honourable panel of judges to take into consideration the following points,' he read. 'Throughout the trial process, the defendant has demonstrated a proactive attitude; the defendant provided clear and straightforward explanations during the examination without being evasive or contradictory. 'The defendant's actions were a spontaneous and reactive response, without any prior intention; the defendant acted in an attempt to protect his friend; as a result of the incident, the defendant himself became a victim due to the actions of the security personnel and sustained injuries.' Mr Antonius referenced last week's court session, where Rifai and the security guards involved in the brawl publicly forgave each other. 'A peace agreement has been made and documented in a written statement dated February 24, 2025,' he read. 'The defendant has admitted and accepted responsibility for his actions and sincerely regrets his behaviour.' He added that Rifai is committed to 'self-improvement' and living a better life. He didn't have a criminal record prior to the melee. 'In light of these considerations, we kindly request that this case be resolved with the lightest possible sentence,' Mr Antonius said. Last week in court, Rifai claimed he acted in self defence while he was allegedly attacked by the security guards after they escorted his friend John Ebid from the club. He is accused of inflicting major injuries on security staff, including Made Bagus Yohanandita, who suffered head injuries and lost several teeth. In a surprise twist, Rifai shook hands and embraced each of the co-accused security guards in front of the judge after giving evidence against them on Tuesday. 'Will you forgive them?', the judge asked Rifai. 'Yes, I will,' Rifai replied. The judge responded: 'Please, all of you forgive each other. During his victim testimony, Rifai recalled how the brawl was sparked by Mr Ebid's eviction from the club. 'I was in the main pool and saw my friend being taken out so I approached him (a security guard),' he told the court. 'I asked what happened and he said to let him take him (Mr Ebid) but then they did the same thing to me.' When asked if the security used any weapons, Rifai claimed they used bamboo. '(I was hit) in my face, my head, almost all my body,' he said. 'They kicked my stomach also.' Rifai added he had been to Finns Beach Club several times with family and friends previously and had 'never had a bad experience before'. The eight security guards charged over the brawl include I Gede Laksemana Aryawan, I Gusti Putu Agus Surya Negara, Wayan Alit Junaedi, I Made Ivan Darma Saputra, I Nengah Dading Gunadi, I Gede Ngurah Alit Sujana, I Ketut Gede Mawantara and I Nyoman Mertayasa. Rifai will spend another month behind bars if the recommended sentence is handed down.
