As many as 13 victims of the landslide at the Gunung Batu Mujur gold mine in Sekotong district, West Lombok have been accounted for as of Tuesday, six of them dead and the rest wounded while dozens remain missing.
The rescue post at the Sekotong district office identified the deceased as Yek Cin (48), Taufik (30), Sahri (30), and Ubut (30), who were found dead and evacuated on Jan. 18, and two others, Herman (20) and Muharis (28), who died after receiving treatment at the Mataram General Hospital.
The wounded victims who are currently being treated at the Mataram General Hospital and Gerung Hospital in West Lombok are Haryadi (27), Sahram (27), Zohdi (24), Sukri (32), Amaq Pisah (48), Amaq Uwi (46) and Opik (30), most of whom hail from Sekotong, West Lombok and southwest Praya, Central Lombok.
Sekotong district chief Lalu Guntur Gagarin told reporters on Tuesday the list of victims came from the victim’s families and not from evacuation tallies.
“Some of the victims were brought home by their families after the incident on Saturday night, and they only reported them upon their deaths. They were likely afraid to deal with the authorities because they were aware that what they did was illegal,” said Guntur.
The evacuation team, assisted by an excavator from the local administration, was able to lift a large boulder blocking the mine shaft on Jan. 19, but was only able to find the severed right leg and head of Yek Cin and Sahri.
“Search efforts, such as digging earth and rocks out of the shaft, are now underway, because according to the miners, there are dozens of people still missing,” he said.
Guntur added that dozens were likely still buried based on the presence of a dozen motorcycles, believed to be owned by the missing miners, which were left idle at the mining site.
Military and police units and the local disaster relief task force Tuesday were sent to the site to support the search mission, but they were hampered by rough terrain and bad weather.
Guntur said another setback in the search effort was the lack of camaraderie between the miners, as most continued mining instead of helping to dig out the rest of the pit.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen such an operation. They did not help but were instead busy fighting over rocks. They immediately smashed the rocks which they say are filled with a lot of gold,” said Guntur.
Guntur said there were currently around six illegal gold mining locations in Sekotong: Kayu Putih and Mencengah in Pelangan village, and Lendak Bare, Tugu Lawang, Gunung Batu and Pondok Ganjar in Buwun Mas village, which started operations in 2008.
The Jakarta Post