PADANG, Indonesia, May 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Searchers recovered nine bodies after a landslide hit near an illegal gold mine on Indonesia's Sumatra Island, police said Friday.

A cliff near the mine collapsed on Thursday in the Sijunjung district, burying a group of miners working only three metres (10 feet) away, said West Sumatra police spokeswoman Susmelawati Rosya.

"This location is indeed an illegal gold mine. Nine died while three others managed to escape when the cliff collapsed," she said.

Police and volunteers launched a rescue operation, using heavy equipment to dig for the victims.

Unlicensed mines are common across the mineral-rich Southeast Asian archipelago, where abandoned sites attract locals who scrounge for leftover gold ore without using proper safety equipment.

Mining accidents frequently occur in Indonesia due to landslides, especially during the monsoon season.

"We will investigate. Of course, the mine will be closed; police lines have already been put up," Susmelawati said, adding all the dead have been accounted for.

Local environmental group WALHI recorded at least 48 deaths in West Sumatra alone since 2012 due to incidents at illegal gold mines.

"The deaths of nine people in a landslide at an illegal gold mine in Sijunjung Regency once again revealed the state's failure to protect its citizens from illegal mining practices that destroy the environment and claim lives," the group said Friday.

Last year, at least 18 people were killed when rocks collapsed at a limestone quarry in the city of Cirebon in West Java province.

In 2024, at least 23 people were killed in a landslide near an illegal gold mine on Indonesia's central island of Sulawesi.