September 20, 2025 | 01:11 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Freeport Indonesia announced that the rescuers have found two of the seven workers who were previously trapped after an underground landslide struck the Grasberg Block Cave area, Mimika, Central Papua. The two bodies were successfully evacuated around 08:45 a.m. local time on Saturday, September 20, 2025.
Vice President of Corporate Communications of PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) Katri Krisnati said they are awaiting police confirmation about the identities of the deceased. "We express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and ensure full support for them. The search for the other workers remains underway," said Katri, as quoted from a written statement on Saturday, September 20, 2025.
The landslide incident occurred on Monday night, September 8, 2025, which left seven contractor workers trapped in the mine's pathway. A large amount of material flowed from a production uptake point in one of the five underground mine blocks. This flow has blocked access and evacuation routes for the seven contractor workers.
"The location of the trapped workers has been identified and they are believed to be safe. Our team is trying to open access so the evacuation can be done quickly and safely," Katri said in a written statement on Tuesday, September 9, 2025.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources previously confirmed that two of the seven trapped workers were foreign nationals from Chile and South Africa, while the remaining five were Indonesians. "The foreign workers have been communicated with their respective embassies," said Director General of Mineral and Coal Tri Winarno.
This is not the first incident to occur in Freeport's underground mine. In May 2013, a similar landslide claimed the lives of 28 workers out of a total of 34 who were trapped. Two weeks later, another worker became a victim after being hit by mud material.
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