Cracks and fractures in the cliffs around the limestone quarry in Cirebon, West Java have now extended beyond four metres, highlighting an escalating risk of additional landslides. - AFP
JAKARTA: Rescue teams have been forced to end search and rescue operations for the remaining four victims of the fatal rockslide at a limestone quarry on Mount Kuda Hill in Cirebon, West Java, due to growing safety concerns.
The search for the victims was officially concluded on Tuesday (June 3), one week after the disaster that claimed 21 lives and left 12 others injured.
Cirebon Regent Imron Rosyadi said the decision was made following a meeting between rescue teams and various stakeholders. “The rescue team has done everything possible to locate the remaining missing victims buried under the rubble, but conditions at the site have become extremely dangerous. For the safety of the rescuers, we have no choice but to end the search efforts,” he said on Thursday, as reported by Kompas.
Imron also said that authorities had informed the families of the four remaining missing victims about the situation, and they had agreed to permanently end the search efforts.
Monitoring data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources show that cracks and fractures in the surrounding cliffs have now extended beyond four metres, highlighting an escalating risk of additional landslides.
Throughout the past week, rescue efforts were repeatedly suspended due to falling rocks and continued ground movement in the area. Sarwo, one of the mine workers who also participated in the search efforts, said he was afraid to operate heavy equipment near the collapsed cliffs while searching for victims buried under the rubble.
“The conditions were very dangerous. We saw the cliff slowly subsiding and shifting. Those buried are my colleagues, but I was seriously concerned about the risk of a further massive rockslide,” he said.
Governor Imron announced plans to seal off the quarry to prevent people from entering the hazardous area. “We will also collaborate with the West Java administration to develop solutions for the mine workers who have lost their jobs due to the closure,” he said.
Previously, West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi revoked the mining permit for the limestone quarry shortly after the fatal rockslide.
On Sunday, the Cirebon Police arrested two people in connection to the disaster. They are a 59-year-old, AK, who served as the head of the cooperative managing the quarry and AR, a 35-year-old who worked as the mining site’s supervisor.
Authorities said that both AK and AR had ignored two official warnings issued by the West Java Energy and Mineral Resources Agency, which ordered them to stop mining activities due to administrative violations.
The cooperative also failed to implement adequate safety standards in accordance with prevailing regulations, including using improper mining methods and equipment, which contributed to the disaster.
Both suspects have been charged with violating Articles 98 and 99 of the 2009 Environmental Protection and Management Law, as well as Article 35 of the 2023 Job Creation Law. If found guilty, they face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to Rp 15 billion (US$922,620.
West Java Energy and Mineral Resources Agency head Bambang Tirto Yuliono, previously stated that limestone should be mined from the top down in a tiered structure. However, the quarry on Mount Kuda Hill had been extracting the stone from the bottom up.
The rockfall was not the first incident at the site. There have been at least five recorded landslides at the mine over the past decade.
The most recent occurred in February with no casualties. However, a similar incident in 2015 resulted in the deaths of two workers. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
