1 killed, 21 missing in Indonesia landslide

Police say a landslide on Indonesia's main island of Java has killed at least one miner collecting trace amounts of gold at the illegal mine.

West Java police spokesman Col. Martinus Sitompul said Tuesday that days of torrential rain triggered a landslide at the mountainous site in West Java's district of Sukabumi late Monday.

Rescuers were searching for 21 others reported as missing. Four miners were found alive.

Many traditional miners earn their living retrieving tiny amounts of gold from the leftover of mines, a practice that is banned by the government because it is considered dangerous.

Seasonal downpours often cause landslides and flash floods in Indonesia, an archipelago nation where millions of people live on mountains or near fertile flood plains.



 

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