Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — Seven employees of PT Freeport Indonesia remain trapped underground after a landslide involving wet material at the Grasberg Block Cave mine. Rescue efforts have been underway since the incident late Monday night, September 8, 2025.
The company confirmed on Wednesday (September 10) that mining operations have been suspended to focus entirely on evacuation efforts.
“We have temporarily halted all underground mining operations and are concentrating every resource on evacuating the seven trapped contractor workers,” said Freeport Indonesia’s VP of Corporate Communications, Katri Krisnati in a statement, as reported by Antara.
Katri added that the trapped workers have not yet been reached and their condition remains uncertain. “They have been unreachable since the wet material flow occurred at the Grasberg Block Cave underground mine,” she said.
Emergency Response Group (ERG) teams are working to clear access to the affected area, though shifting material continues to hinder the operation.
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Previously, landslide occurred on late Monday, September 8, 2025, at around 10 p.m. local time in the Grasberg mining area of PT Freeport Indonesia in Tembagapura, Mimika district, Central Papua. A massive flow of wet material, known as “wet muck,” surged into the underground operations of the Grasberg Block Cave mine, trapping seven workers inside.
Local police confirmed that as of Tuesday (September 9) night, the workers were still unrescued but were believed to be safe.
“From the reports we’ve received, the workers are still in a safe condition. What we are most concerned about is the supply of oxygen inside, and we hope reserves are available,” said Tembagapura Police Chief Iptu Firman.
Authorities noted that the sheer volume of wet muck flooding the underground tunnels is making removal efforts slow and complex, further delaying the rescue mission.
(Raidi/Agung)
