Landslide in former mining site kills 2 in western Indonesia

Landslide

JAKARTA, June 23 (Xinhua) -- A landslide killed two illegal miners and injured four others in a former mining site early Wednesday in the Indonesian province of Bangka Belitung Islands, local police said.

The accident occurred at about 3:00 a.m. local time in Pemali village in Bangka district.

"Two of the six miners buried by the landslide died," Pemali police chief Reza Irawan was quoted by Antara news agency as saying after the rescue operation.

Irawan said the miners were searching for tin sand in an abandoned mining site with a depth of 20 meters.

Unlicensed mines are common across the archipelagic country and a number of accidents have occurred in the past years.