Nights Entering The Gold Hole Dig, Five Traditional Miners In Bombana Died

Illustration (Photo: Antara)

KENDARI - Five traditional gold miners in Bombana Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, reportedly died as a result of being buried in a dug hole while mining in that area.

"Yes, five people died in Bombana. They were gold miners," said Head of Public Relations of the Southeast Sulawesi Regional Police Kombes Ferry Walintukan when confirmed via cell phone in Kendari, reported by Antara, Wednesday, November 24.

The unfortunate incident was reported to have occurred in Tahite Village, Rarowatu District, Bombana Regency, on Tuesday, November 23 at around 19:00 WITA.

Five people were reported dead, namely Alex (31), Maripadang (38), Abo (33), Bettu (40), and Akki (41).

"It's still in the process of being handled by the Bombana Police. The victims have been evacuated by their families and local residents," he said.

It is reported that the incident began when seven traditional gold miners left for the mining site at around 18.30 WITA.

Upon arrival at the mining site, the five victims went straight into a crawling hole or a rat hole with a depth of 15 meters.

While two of his colleagues waited outside the hole. Not long after, the hole collapsed, and immediately buried the five victims. Two fellow victims who survived then ran to the village to ask residents for help. At 19.30 WITA, residents arrived at the location and tried to save the victim. However, the landslide was very thick, making it difficult to dig out the material manually, so the evacuation was carried out using heavy equipment.

The five victims were found at 22.00 WITA and then evacuated to Poleang Utara Health Center, Bombana.