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JAKARTA: The death toll from a landslide near an illegal gold mine on Indonesia’s central island of Sulawesi had risen to 23 people, while 35 others are still missing, an official said on Tuesday (Jul 9).
Unlicensed mines are common across the mineral-rich Southeast Asian archipelago, where abandoned sites attract locals who hunt for leftover gold ore without proper safety equipment.
The landslide hit a remote village in the Bone Bolango district of Gorontalo province late Saturday following intense rains.
“As of this afternoon … 23 people died, 66 people survived and 35 people are being searched” for, Gorontalo search and rescue agency official Ida Bagus Nyoman Ngurah Asrama told AFP.
The previous death toll was 11, as of Monday afternoon.
