Latest news with #NationalSearchandRescueAgency
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Perth Now
Frantic moment workers flee deadly landslide at mine with lax safety standards
Dozens of people have been trapped beneath rubble after a natural stone quarry collapsed in a landslide in Indonesia on Friday. At least 14 people have been killed, and many more injured, with up to eight people still missing in the Gunung Kuda quarry in the Cirebon district of West Java. Of the dozen injured workers, five remain in hospital with serious injuries. Police, soldiers, emergency rescue teams, and volunteers have all been frantically digging into the steep limestone cliff, supported by five excavators, local television reports said early on Saturday. Several trucks and excavators were buried in the landslide, and the death toll has continued to rise since the incident occurred. Ten bodies were quickly recovered on Friday afternoon, with another three bodies pulled from the rubble later that night, and a badly injured worker later succumbing to their injuries in hospital, the National Search and Rescue Agency in a statement. The cause of the collapse is still under investigation, and police are questioning six people including the owner of the quarry, local police chief Sumarni said, who uses a single name. West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi said in a video statement on Instagram that he visited the quarry before he was elected in February and considered it dangerous. 'It did not meet the safety standard elements for its workers,' Mulyadi said. He added that he 'didn't have any capacity to stop it' at the time. Mulyadi said on Friday that he had ordered the quarry closed, as well as four other similar sites in West Java. Illegal or informal resource extraction operations are common in Indonesia, providing a tenuous livelihood to those who labour in conditions with a high risk of injury or death. Landslides, flooding and tunnel collapses are just some of the hazards associated with them. Much of the processing of sand, rocks or gold ore also involves the use of highly toxic mercury and cyanide by workers using little or no protection. In 2024, a landslide triggered by torrential rains struck an unauthorised gold mining operation on Indonesia's Sumatra island, killing at least 15 people. It is unclear at this stage what caused the mine site landslide on Friday. But the local ASEAN Disaster Information Network reported several flooding and landslide incidents in the Cirebon district of West Java due to high coastal tides and prolonged heavy rainfall impacting the stability of soil in the weeks before the mine collapsed. While skies have remained dry during rescue and recovery efforts so far, rainfall is also being considered by Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency, BNPB. 'It is hoped that in this search operation, safety will be prioritised and attention to the surrounding natural conditions. If it rains for more than an hour, it is advisable to carry out independent evacuation to a safer place for a while,' BNPB said in a statement. Many mines in Indonesia operate on or nearby disaster-prone areas. Of the thousands of mining business permits approved in Indonesia, 783 were connected to disaster-prone areas, according to reports in 2020 from the local Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam). Throughout 2019, the Network recorded seven major mining-related disasters, which killed 35 people and affected 83,722 residents. At that time, a spokesperson for Jatam raised concerns about a number of existing mines near old disaster zones, including a mine operating in East Java, near Mount Tumpang Pitu in Banyuwangi, where a tsunami hit in 1994. Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency, BNPB, acknowledged at the time that it had not yet created a map which integrated mine permits with data relating to disaster-prone areas, but noted one was in the works. has contacted BNPB for further comment. - With AP, CNN
Belfast Telegraph
3 days ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Death toll from quarry collapse in Indonesia rises to 14
More than two dozen people were trapped in the rubble when the Gunung Kuda quarry in Cirebon district collapsed on Friday. Rescuers pulled a dozen injured people and 10 bodies from the debris during a gruelling search effort. They retrieved three more bodies late on Friday, and another worker died in hospital, bringing the death toll to 14, said the National Search and Rescue Agency in a statement. Five people have been taken to hospital with serious injuries. Local television reports showed emergency personnel, along with police, soldiers and volunteers digging desperately in the quarry in a steep limestone cliff, supported by five excavators, early on Saturday. Authorities said six to eight people are still believed to be trapped. The cause of the collapse is still under investigation, and police have been questioning six people including the owner of the quarry, said local police chief Sumarni. West Java governor Dedi Mulyadi said in a video statement on Instagram that he visited the quarry before he was elected in February and considered it dangerous. 'It did not meet the safety standard elements for its workers,' Mr Mulyadi said, adding that at that time: 'I didn't have any capacity to stop it.' On Friday, Mr Mulyadi said that he had ordered the quarry shut, as well as four other similar sites in West Java. Illegal or informal resource extraction operations are common in Indonesia, providing a tenuous livelihood to those who labour in conditions with a high risk of injury or death. Landslides, flooding and tunnel collapses are just some of the hazards associated with them. Much of the processing of sand, rocks or gold ore also involves the use of highly toxic mercury and cyanide by workers using little or no protection. Last year, a landslide triggered by torrential rains struck an unauthorised gold mining operation on Indonesia's Sumatra island, killing at least 15 people.
Arab Times
3 days ago
- Arab Times
Death toll from quarry collapse in Indonesia rises to 14
CIREBON, Indonesia, May 31, (AP): At least 14 people were killed after a quarry collapsed the previous day in Indonesia's West Java province, officials said Saturday. More than two dozen people were trapped in the rubble when the Gunung Kuda quarry in Cirebon district collapsed on Friday. Rescuers pulled a dozen injured people and 10 bodies from the debris during a grueling search effort. They retrieved three more bodies late Friday, and another worker died in hospital, bringing the death toll to 14, said the National Search and Rescue Agency in a statement. Five people have been hospitalized with serious injuries. Local television reports showed emergency personnel, along with police, soldiers and volunteers digging desperately in the quarry in a steep limestone cliff, supported by five excavators, early Saturday. Authorities said six to eight people are still believed to be trapped. The cause of the collapse is still under investigation, and police have been questioning six people including the owner of the quarry, said local police chief Sumarni. West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi said in a video statement on Instagram that he visited the quarry before he was elected in February and considered it dangerous. "It did not meet the safety standard elements for its workers,' Mulyadi said, adding that at that time, "I didn't have any capacity to stop it.' On Friday, Mulyadi said that he had ordered the quarry shut, as well as four other similar sites in West Java. Illegal or informal resource extraction operations are common in Indonesia, providing a tenuous livelihood to those who labor in conditions with a high risk of injury or death. Landslides, flooding and tunnel collapses are just some of the hazards associated with them. Much of the processing of sand, rocks or gold ore also involves the use of highly toxic mercury and cyanide by workers using little or no protection. Last year, a landslide triggered by torrential rains struck an unauthorized gold mining operation on Indonesia's Sumatra island, killing at least 15 people.
3 days ago
Death toll from quarry collapse in Indonesia rises to 14
CIREBON, Indonesia -- At least 14 people were killed after a quarry collapsed the previous day in Indonesia's West Java province, officials said Saturday. More than two dozen people were trapped in the rubble when the Gunung Kuda quarry in Cirebon district collapsed on Friday. Rescuers pulled a dozen injured people and 10 bodies from the debris during a grueling search effort. They retrieved three more bodies late Friday, and another worker died in hospital, bringing the death toll to 14, said the National Search and Rescue Agency in a statement. Five people have been hospitalized with serious injuries. Local television reports showed emergency personnel, along with police, soldiers and volunteers digging desperately in the quarry in a steep limestone cliff, supported by five excavators, early Saturday. Authorities said six to eight people are still believed to be trapped. The cause of the collapse is still under investigation, and police have been questioning six people including the owner of the quarry, said local police chief Sumarni. West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi said in a video statement on Instagram that he visited the quarry before he was elected in February and considered it dangerous. 'It did not meet the safety standard elements for its workers,' Mulyadi said, adding that at that time, 'I didn't have any capacity to stop it.' On Friday, Mulyadi said that he had ordered the quarry shut, as well as four other similar sites in West Java. Illegal or informal resource extraction operations are common in Indonesia, providing a tenuous livelihood to those who labor in conditions with a high risk of injury or death. Landslides, flooding and tunnel collapses are just some of the hazards associated with them. Much of the processing of sand, rocks or gold ore also involves the use of highly toxic mercury and cyanide by workers using little or no protection. on Indonesia's Sumatra island, killing at least 15 people.
7NEWS
3 days ago
- 7NEWS
Death toll rises to 14 after mine collapse, as rescue teams look for missing workers buried under landslide in Indonesia's West Java
Dozens of people have been trapped beneath rubble after a natural stone quarry collapsed in a landslide in Indonesia on Friday. At least 14 people have been killed, and many more injured, with up to eight people still missing in the Gunung Kuda quarry in the Cirebon district of West Java. Of the dozen injured workers, five remain in hospital with serious injuries. Police, soldiers, emergency rescue teams, and volunteers have all been frantically digging into the steep limestone cliff, supported by five excavators, local television reports said early on Saturday. Several trucks and excavators were buried in the landslide, and the death toll has continued to rise since the incident occurred. Ten bodies were quickly recovered on Friday afternoon, with another three bodies pulled from the rubble later that night, and a badly injured worker later succumbing to their injuries in hospital, the National Search and Rescue Agency in a statement. The cause of the collapse is still under investigation, and police are questioning six people including the owner of the quarry, local police chief Sumarni said, who uses a single name. West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi said in a video statement on Instagram that he visited the quarry before he was elected in February and considered it dangerous. 'It did not meet the safety standard elements for its workers,' Mulyadi said. He added that he 'didn't have any capacity to stop it' at the time. Mulyadi said on Friday that he had ordered the quarry closed, as well as four other similar sites in West Java. Illegal or informal resource extraction operations are common in Indonesia, providing a tenuous livelihood to those who labour in conditions with a high risk of injury or death. Landslides, flooding and tunnel collapses are just some of the hazards associated with them. Much of the processing of sand, rocks or gold ore also involves the use of highly toxic mercury and cyanide by workers using little or no protection. In 2024, a landslide triggered by torrential rains struck an unauthorised gold mining operation on Indonesia's Sumatra island, killing at least 15 people. Hundreds of mine sites linked to disaster areas It is unclear at this stage what caused the mine site landslide on Friday. But the local ASEAN Disaster Information Network reported several flooding and landslide incidents in the Cirebon district of West Java due to high coastal tides and prolonged heavy rainfall impacting the stability of soil in the weeks before the mine collapsed. While skies have remained dry during rescue and recovery efforts so far, rainfall is also being considered by Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency, BNPB. 'It is hoped that in this search operation, safety will be prioritised and attention to the surrounding natural conditions. If it rains for more than an hour, it is advisable to carry out independent evacuation to a safer place for a while,' BNPB said in a statement. Many mines in Indonesia operate on or nearby disaster-prone areas. Of the thousands of mining business permits approved in Indonesia, 783 were connected to disaster-prone areas, according to reports in 2020 from the local Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam). Throughout 2019, the Network recorded seven major mining-related disasters, which killed 35 people and affected 83,722 residents. At that time, a spokesperson for Jatam raised concerns about a number of existing mines near old disaster zones, including a mine operating in East Java, near Mount Tumpang Pitu in Banyuwangi, where a tsunami hit in 1994. Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency, BNPB, acknowledged at the time that it had not yet created a map which integrated mine permits with data relating to disaster-prone areas, but noted one was in the works.
