Disasters & Incidents
Deaths reported after landslide at Solomon Islands’ Gold Ridge mine
Deaths have been reported after a landslide struck the Gold Ridge mine in the Solomon Islands, about 25 kilometres southeast of the capital Honiara.
The National Referral Hospital in Honiara said it expected to receive fatalities. Hospital worker Lyrex Alick told AFP that some people had died.
The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force declined to confirm a death toll. Local media outlet In-depth Solomons reported that 10 bodies had been recovered from the site.
Images and video posted on social media showed bulldozers digging through collapsed rock and dirt at the mine.
Gold Ridge Mining is majority-owned by Chinese company Wanguo International Mining. Neither company responded to requests for comment.
Wanguo said in May that the mine contributed almost a quarter of the Solomon Islands’ gross domestic product last year. The mine began an expansion last year.
Prime Minister Matthew Wale has recently indicated plans for broader mining-sector reforms aimed at returning more revenue to the local economy.
Uncertainty notes
No official death toll was confirmed in the supplied report.
The police declined to comment on the reported death toll.
The cause and full scale of the landslide were not established in the supplied report.
Source
AFP news report published on .