Two died in Freeport Indonesia?s underground mine accident

Two workers died at an underground gold mine in Papua operated by PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) when part of a tunnel collapsed Tuesday morning.

Kompas reported Wednesday quoting local police spokesman I Gde S. Jaya as saying that the victims have yet to be identified. Freeport Indonesia spokeswoman Daisy Primayanti confirmed the first fatalities from the incident which occurred during a training session at the company?s underground mining facility in the Big Gossan mine area in Mimika Regency.

As reported by this portal on Tuesday, at least 30 workers were believed to have been trapped in the underground mine.

PTFI, however, said in a statement later that rescuers have evacuated four of the believed 37 people trapped. .

PTFI believed that there were 40 employees and contract workers in a classroom in the tunnel when the collapse occurred at about 7:30am local time (WIT). Three workers managed to escape unhurt from the scene.

Another four workers have been evacuated by 8:00pm (WIT). One of them is reported to be stable and will remain at the Tembagapura hospital. Two are being stabilized for medical evacuation. The fourth has just been evacuated and his injuries are being evaluated.

?Our thoughts and prayers are with our employees and their families,? said PT Freeport Indonesia Rozik B. Soetjipto. ?Our first priority is on the search and rescue efforts and the safety of our workforce.?

?I have directed PTFI?s Emergency Response Group and Safety Team to spare no effort in locating and rescuing the trapped workers. We have also reported this incident to relevant government authorities, including the Mine Inspector of The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. We will provide updates regularly as the rescue work progresses.?

PTFI does not expect this event to have a material effect on mining and milling operations or development activities.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak