A LANDSLIDE triggered by torrential rains has struck an unauthorised goldmining operation on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, killing at least 15 people, officials said today.

Villagers were digging for grains of gold in the remote Solok district of West Sumatra province on Thursday when mud plunged down the surrounding hills and buried them, said Irwan Effendi, head of the local disaster mitigation agency office.

He said at least 25 people were still buried and three people were pulled out alive with injuries by rescuers.

Search efforts in the worst-affected area, near Nagari Sungai Abu village, were hampered by mudslides that covered much of the area, blackouts and lack of telecommunications.

“The devastated mining area can only be reached by walking for four hours from the nearest settlement,” an agency spokesperson said.

Informal mining operations are common in Indonesia, providing a tenuous livelihood to thousands who labour in conditions with a high risk of serious injury or death.

Landslides, flooding and tunnel collapses are just some of the hazards that face miners.

Much of gold ore processing involves highly toxic mercury and cyanide and workers frequently use little or no protection.

The country’s last major mining-related accident occurred in July when a landslide crashed into an illegal traditional goldmine in Gorontalo province on Sulawesi island, killing at least 23 people.

In April 2022 a landslide hit another goldmine in North Sumatra’s Mandailing Natal district, killing 12 women.

In February 2019, a makeshift wooden structure in an illegal goldmine in North Sulawesi province collapsed partly due to shifting soil.

More than 40 people were buried.