JAKARTA, April 29 (Xinhua) -- A landslide in the Indonesian province of North Sumatra on Thursday afternoon killed at least 12 women working at an unlicensed gold mine and left two others injured, local police said on Friday.
District police chief Reza Chairul told local media that a number of people were digging for gold at the illegal gold mine before the landslide occurred in Bandar Limabung village, Mandailing Natal regency.
"Suddenly, part of the cliff collapsed, then hit and buried the women," he said, adding that the authorities are still scrutinizing the accident.
"A total of 14 people were buried. Two people survived," he said, adding that police have evacuated the dead victims and returned them to their families.
Unlicensed mines are common across the archipelagic country and a number of accidents have occurred in the past years.
Last year, six mining workers were killed in a landslide at an unlicensed gold mine in Central Sulawesi province. ■