30-05-2025
Rock collapse at Indonesia quarry kills at least 13
A rock collapse on Friday at a quarry in Indonesia's West Java killed at least 13 people and left around a dozen missing, local media reported.
The incident reportedly took place in Gunung Kuda mine located in Bobos Village of Cirebon Regency, said Mamang Fatmono, acting head of the operational unit of the provincial search and rescue office.
Workers and heavy equipment were buried after rocks suddenly crumbled at the mining site in the city of Cirebon in West Java province at around 09:30 am local time (0230 GMT), as reported by France 24.
Fatmono said he and ten of his personnel including policemen, soldiers, and volunteers, were carrying out the search and rescue operations at the scene.
"Until now, 13 people have been found dead. Around five to six people might still be buried, and the figure might change," the head of the local disaster agency, Deni Nurcahya told news agency AFP on Friday evening.
Excavators were seen working to move huge rocks in the area and personnel on the ground moving bags containing bodies to an ambulance on the television footage.
More than two dozen people were trapped in the rubble when the quarry collapsed, the local police chief Sumarni said. Rescuers were able to pull a dozen injured people from the debris during a grueling search effort with nine of them being hospitalized with serious injuries, he added.
West Java governor Mulyadi too on his Instagram account said the site was dangerous and "does not meet safety standards for workers".
In 2023, eight workers died after being trapped in an illegal gold mine in Central Java. In July last year 23 people lost their lives and another 35 people were missing when a landslide hit a remote village near an illegal gold mine on the central island of Sulawesi.
Earlier this month an explosion while disposing ammunition in Indonesia had killed 13 people, including soldiers where the initial explosion was immediately followed by another blast. The incident had sparked an investigation into the cause and safety of the procedures.
