At least 12 people were killed and 18 remain missing after heavy rain over the weekend resulted in a landslide at an illegal gold mine in Indonesia's Sulawesi island. According to a Reuters report, the landslide occurred on Sunday morning in a remote village in the Bone Bolango district of Gorontalo province. The people killed include miners and residents who lived near the mine.
Five people who survived the incident were moved, while search operations continued for the missing.
Heriyanto, head of the local rescue agency, told Reuters that 164 personnel comprising the national rescue team, police and military personnel, were searching for the missing people. Reaching the landslide site, he said, requires a walk of about 20 kilometres amid continuing rain and thick mud.
Several houses were damaged, and even flattened, by the landslide, and one bridge was reported damaged too. Indonesia's disaster agency (BNPB) has warned Gorontalo residents that rain is expected on Monday and Tuesday, and that people should be on alert in case there are further disasters.
The Associated Press (AP) quoted National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari as saying that torrential rains since Saturday broke an embankment, causing floods of up to 3 metres in five villages in Bone Bolango. Almost 300 houses were affected by this and over 1,000 people had to flee for safety.
Heavy July rain is rare for the area, AFP reported, adding that rain is expected between November and April but July is usually dry. During the rainy season, Indonesia is prone to landslides, a problem that is often aggravated by deforestation in some areas.
In May, around a dozen people were killed on the Sulawesi island due to a landslide that hit the Luwu regency.
Miners face numerous hazards, including landslides, flooding and tunnel collapses. Processing of gold itself exposes workers to highly toxic mercury and cyanide as they wear little to no protection while extracting gold ore, AP reported.