Workers and heavy equipment were buried when rocks suddenly fell at the mining site in the city of Cirebon in West Java province on Friday morning.
The rockfall also injured at least 12 people.
“Today, we retrieved one more body, which brings the total death toll to 18 people, while seven more people are still missing,” local military chief Mukhammad Yusron said.
“We suspect the missing victims have already died.”
Rescuers have deployed excavators and rescue dogs to search for the remaining victims, Mukhammad said.
He said the search operation was challenging and dangerous due to the unstable structures of the rock.
“We must pay attention to the rescuers’ safety because there have been more rockfalls during the operation.”
The local company overseeing the mine was operating legally. Still, safety standards were lacking, according to West Java governor Dedi Mulyadi, who said he had ordered its closure following the accident.
“I have issued an order to my subordinates at the site. The company has been shut down permanently,” he said in a statement earlier this week.
Friday’s incident was the second collapse at the quarry, following an incident in February but no casualties were reported then.
Mining accidents are common across the mineral-rich Southeast Asian archipelago, especially in unlicensed sites where safety protocols are often ignored. (AFP)
