JAKARTA: A teenager died in an abandoned illegal gold mine in Kuantan Singingi regency, Riau, after a cliff collapsed and buried the victim on Monday (July 13) while he was panning for gold. Identified as RA, 15, the student at a vocational high school from Pulau Banjar Kari village, visited the location in Sungai Jering subdistrict, Central Kuantan district, with his friends Abi and Alvin to find gold grains manually using a traditional dulang pan.
The location was abandoned by illegal gold prospectors and there were numerous pits dug using excavators. “The illegal gold mine has been cleared off and deserted by the illegal gold prospectors,” Kuantan Singingi Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Hidayat Perdana said on Wednesday.
“The area is neglected and relatively deserted, so children and teenagers often look for leftover gold grains using simple tools without realising the lurking danger.” Hidayat said the victim’s mother said he had been looking for gold since junior high school to supplement his pocket money.
“The tragic accident happened at about 5:30 p.m. and it was already getting dark when the victim and his friends arrived at the location,” he said. “The victim asked both of his friends to look for a flashlight.”
After his friends left, the boy then began to dig, using a small bucket to pan for gold grain. When his friends returned to the location at about 7:30 p.m., they found the sandy area cliff had collapsed.
“Because the victim was nowhere to be seen, the other boys suspected the victim was buried by a landslide,” said Hidayat. Abi then informed the victim’s parents and tried to manually rescue him using hoes.
The effort, however, caused follow-up landslides to bury the victim’s body even deeper. The soil structure in the location was unstable because no reclamation efforts had been undertaken after mining.
“The pit has a diameter of about two metres with a depth of three metres, and the collapsed cliff is about seven metres high,” Hidayat said. The incident was then reported to village administration and Central Kuantan Police sub-precinct.
A joint team finally found the victim’s body at 10 p.m. Also found in the location were tools used by the victim to find gold, such as a bucket, hoe and pan.
“After the evacuation process, officers from Kuantan Tengah Police suggested the body to be brought to Taluk Kuantan General Hospital for autopsy,” Hidayat said. The family, however, refused and immediately brought the body home for the burial process.
“This incident reminds us that illegal gold mines are not only damaging the environment but also threatening lives, even in locations which have ceased operations,” Hidayat added./
Dangerous endeavour
A police line was installed in the location to prevent the public from approaching, as the open mine pits are dangerous for gold panners. “No one is allowed to approach the illegal gold mine pits, in order to prevent similar accidents,” the police chief said.
“Village officials, community figures and customary leaders must actively educate residents to no longer conduct any activities in the abandoned illegal gold mines. Hidayat said he had repeatedly called on residents not to look for gold illegally.
“Look at the victims, many were still children and teenagers. They did not know the risks and threats in the field,” he said. He said parents should monitor their children’s activities and prevent them from looking for gold.
Police forces in the regency have conducted various enforcement actions against illegal gold mines. Kuantan Mudik Police sub-precinct, for example, burned dozens of rafts and mining equipment along Kuantan River on Wednesday.
Earlier, on Tuesday, Cerenti district administration cooperated with local police and Army units destroying 48 rafts. The rafts were used to pump out water along the river, spanning five villages.
“Authorities destroyed the illegal gold mine rafts so miners could no longer use them and to cut the operational chains of illegal gold miners,” Hidayat said. “We will also increase patrols to restrict the movement of illegal gold miners who destroy the riverbanks for their personal gain.” - The Jakarta Post/ANN
