Blast in Indonesian mine kills ten

A buildup of gases in an Indonesian coal mine on Friday caused an explosion that killed ten miners. Four other miners were rescued and experienced burns and shortness of breath, officials said. The mine in the country’s West Sumatra province is privately owned. Officials used blowers and fans to clear gases and stabilize the mine before entering it. Rescuers struggled to find the victims—the last victim was located after searching an 800-foot-long tunnel, a spokesman for the local rescue team said.

Are these sorts of accidents common in Indonesia? Indonesian miners face threats from landslides, tunnel collapses, and flooding. In April, an overloaded truck carrying 29 people hit a hillside and overturned, killing 18 and injuring others. It was near an illegal gold mine in West Papua province. In February 2019, a makeshift wooden structure in another illegal gold mine in North Sulawesi province collapsed due to shifting soil. The collapse buried and killed more than 40 people.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, listen to Bonnie Pritchett’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about planting faith in a Canadian mining town.