Illegal Miners On Maluku Botak Mountain Accumvented By Longsor, 3 Died, 1 Selamat

Illustration. Transport trucks transport coal mining materials. (ANTARA-M Risyal H)

As many as three illegal miners were buried by landslides in the area of the Gunung Botak Gold Mining Without Permit (PETI), Wamsait Hamlet, Buru, Maluku.

Buru Island Police Public Relations Officer Aipda MS Djamaluddin said his party had evacuated victims from their deaths due to manual mining activities in the rock mountain area, Mount Botak.

"The incident occurred yesterday at 05.00 WIT, we received information from a witness on behalf of Am that there had been a landslide work accident that resulted in three deaths in the PETI Mount Botak area," he said in Ambon, Maluku, quoted from Antara, Monday, November 21, quoted from Antara.

Djamaluddin explained that three victims died, namely Anto 41 years old, a resident from Dorpedo Village, South Ternate City, North Maluku; Rizal Galela alias Ical, 40 years old, a resident of Tobelo Village, Tobelo, North Halmahera; and Lukas Tasidjawa, 39 years old, a resident of Waekose Village, Fenaleisela District, Buru.

The survivors were Cadu, 45, a resident of Tobelo Regency, North Halmahera, North Maluku.

Based on the testimony of witnesses at the scene, at around 00.00 WIT on Monday, November 21, approximately 30 people carried out manual mining in the rock mountain area, precisely in the ditch where Yohanes Nurlatu's dompeng method gold mining was mined.

"Furthermore, the victims on behalf of Anto, Rizal Galela, Lukas Tasidjawa and Cadu dug the ground with a excavation depth of about four meters," he said.

At around 02.15 WIT, the witness heard a sound of landslide being asked of his colleague. It turned out that the origin of the landslide was in the gold mining area belonging to Yohanes Nurlatu.

Another witness then said that there were miners who were victims of the landslide. A moment later, witnesses and other miners headed to the disaster site to help dig the soil where the victims were buried by landslides.

"After digging the landslide for approximately two hours, four victims were successfully evacuated, but the three victims were already dead, while the victim on behalf of Cadu survived and was in good health but injured in the leg due to being buried," he said.

According to him, the victim on behalf of Cadu survived because he was only buried in half, while the three victims who died, the entire body was buried in the ground and his position was about three meters below the survivors.

"At around 02.30 WIT, witness Samsudin after successfully evacuating the victim, then evacuated the victims Rizal Galela and Anto to Edi alias Ko Edi Yang's house, which is located in Dava Village, Waelata District, Buru Regency," he said.

"We haven't returned yet, but we still urge that mining activities no longer be carried out on Mount Botak. Because this activity will pollute the environment due to the use of hazardous chemicals, unwanted things can also happen like this," he continued.

The bald mountain is the name for the illegal gold mining area on Buru Island which operates massively, causing environmental damage, and increasing crime there.

President Joko Widodo has ordered the activities of the Mount Botak PETI to be brought under control since 2017, but until now this activity continues to take place in a hidden manner and even involves the officers protecting it.