Five miners killed after mine collapses in West Java

By Bambang Atmaja

An illegal gold mine has collapsed in Cianjur district of West Java province, killing five miners and leaving one survivor, Head of provincial Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency Udjwala Prana Sigit said.

Heavy downpours were blamed for the incident in Kampung Gunung village of Cempaka sub-district on Tuesday, the official said.

?It is an illegal mine, the miners work with lacking of safety standard,? he told Petromindo.com via phone on Thursday.

So, when the rain came down, and the mine collapsed, ?they were buried at a depth of 50 meters. Five bodies were evacuated yesterday (Wednesday) and one survived,? added Sigit.

Police and the agency officials remain at the scene and ban other miners from working at the area, he disclosed.

Now, he said, the authorities are waiting for possible reports from the villagers about the possibility of others miners being trapped in the mine.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak