Miner trapped in a mine for 8 days

INDONESIA- Miner Pak Mursalim Sahman was stuck 300m underground for 8 days, starting from Feb 8 in Kencana mine. The mine, which was being worked in by the Australian Newcrest Mining, had a "geotechnical event", aka. rockfall, on Feb 8.

The mine was evacuated successfully, or so they thought. They soon found that a miner was not able to exit the mine safely.

The rockfall may have been triggered by a quake nearby.

A 38m hole was drilled into an existing tunnel above to rescue the man, who was excavated using a capsule.

The managing director of Newcrest Mining was deeply relieved to see that Pak Mursalim was safe. “I offer my heartfelt thanks to the onsite rescue teams who have worked tirelessly 24 hours a day since the geotechnical event on February 8 that blocked the development drive behind where Pak Mursalim was drilling blast holes,” he stated.

Pak Mursalim showed great courage in the face of extreme adversity. “He stayed positive and contributed invaluable information about his immediate environment that assisted with the rescue effort.”

Mr Sahman has been transferred to hospital where he will meet up with his family.