17 killed after quarry collapses in Indonesia, search on for 8 trapped employees

Indonesian authorities will proceed looking out on Sunday for eight folks trapped in a rock collapse at a quarry in West Java, the place the demise toll has reached 17 with six injured, the search and rescue company Basarnas mentioned.

The toll, as reported by the victims’ households, is provisional, the company mentioned in an announcement late on Saturday.

The location of Friday’s collapse in Cirebon is harmful and “doesn’t meet security requirements for employees”, West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi posted on Instagram.

The Power and Mineral Assets Ministry mentioned in an announcement it will examine the reason for the collapse and conduct an evaluation to determine any potential additional landslides.

Cirebon Regency is vulnerable to soil motion, particularly when precipitation is above regular, whereas the realm of the collapse has a cliff slope, the chief of the ministry’s geological company, Muhammad Wafid, mentioned within the assertion.

Wafid mentioned the undercutting technique used within the open mining space and the steep slope may additionally have performed a task within the collapse.

“Whereas finishing up evacuation and search efforts, (rescuers) should take note of the climate and steep slopes, and never perform actions throughout and after heavy rain, as a result of this space nonetheless has the potential for additional landslides that might hit or bury officers,” Wafid mentioned.