Rescue efforts are reportedly underway in Indonesia after a landslide at an unlicensed gold mine left at least one person dead and as many as 60 people buried, officials said on Wednesday.
The fatality was confirmed by the national disaster agency, which also said that more than a dozen other people were hurt during the landslide in the North Sulawesi province, according to The Associated Press.
Mining work was ongoing Tuesday evening local time when “suddenly the poles and supporting boards were broken due to the unstable condition of the soil and the large number of mining holes,” Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for national disaster mitigation agency BNPB, said, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Several people were feared to be covered by the rubble, according to the official. “It is estimated that as many as 60 people are buried under landslide and rock material at the location of the people’s mining area,” Nugroho said.
Dangerous informal mining operations are reportedly typical in the country.
