Hanoi (VNA) – Indonesian authorities said on March 4 that up to 100 peoplecould still be trapped inside an unlicensed gold mine on Sulawesi island, whichcollapsed one week ago.

Thosetrapped may be unable to survive, despite rescue efforts that have so far saved19 people but also seen nine deaths.

Nationaldisaster agency spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the exact number ofminers at the time of the accident was still unknown as rescued survivors hadgiven varied totals.

Accordingto the official, the reported tallies vary from 30 up to 100 people as therewere many left in the main pit, plus an unknown number in the smaller ones.

Searchteams at the scene have been hampered by the steep terrain, unstable soil, anddangerously narrow mining shafts.

The mine’sbeams and support boards broke suddenly due to the unstable land conditions,resulting in the incident in the Bolaang Mongondow region of North Sulawesi onFebruary 26. A similar illegal gold mine accident occurred at the same locationin December last year, killing five miners.

Miningaccidents often occur in Indonesia due to illegal and unregulated activities. Previously,in 2015 and 2016, two cases in Jambi province and Java island claimed 23 lives.–VNA