Abdul Muhari, a spokesman for Indonesia’s Disaster Mitigation Agency, said heavy rain caused landslides later on Friday, a small mine run by local residents in the Alphak Mountains in West Papua.
The landslide struck a temporary shelter used by miners, killing at least one person, wounding four people, and 19 others are still missing, he added.
At least 40 rescuers, police and military personnel, were deployed to search for missing people, officials said.
Small and illegal mining often leads to accidents in Indonesia, where mineral resources are located in remote areas where authorities are in difficult situations for regulation.
Rescuers began search operations only on Sunday as it took Yefri Sabaruddin, the head of the local rescue team, to at least 12 hours for the team to travel to the site.
“Damaged roads, mountainous areas and bad weather have hindered rescue operations,” Yehuli said.
He added that the number of casualties could increase.
At least 15 people were killed in the collapse of an illegal gold mine in Western Sumatra last September after a landslide caused by heavy rain.
Another landslide at a gold mine on Sulawesi killed at least 23 people last July.
MA/PR