TRAGIC END: Firemen emerge from the tunnel with Chai’s body.
BAU: The spate of illegal gold mining activities here claimed its first casualty when a local man was buried alive 80 feet underground after a makeshift mine shaft collapsed late Wednesday night.
The victim, a labourer, was identified by police as Chai Say Chong, 28, of Paku.
The incident happened around 11.30pm when Chai and several friends made their way to Gunung Tabai in Taiton allegedly to mine for gold illegally.
It was believed to have been the first time Chai had gone to the site, which according to police was one of the more ‘popular’ locations in the district among illegal miners.
The victim was said to have descended first down the shaft – a narrow and winding tunnel leading to a chamber some 100 feet below ground – when the tragic incident occurred.
Several locals at the scene speculated that the intermittent rainfall earlier in the evening had loosened the earth and caused the roof of the shaft to collapse on Chai as he made his way down.
His friends, who were believed to have been following behind, immediately doubled back to the surface and headed to the nearby Bau Fire Station to report the incident.
A team comprising police, firemen and local residents headed to Gunung Tabai to recover the body, but had to postpone the operation until 9am yesterday morning for safety reasons.
It took the 10-man team of firemen – six of whom descended into the collapsed shaft – close to three hours to secure Chai’s body and pull it back to the surface.
The body, which was clad only in a T-shirt and briefs, was then sent to the Bau Hospital mortuary for a post mortem.
Commenting on the incident, district police chief DSP Mohd Sabri Zainol said the case involved locals who trespassed into a restricted area at Gunung Tabai to partake in illegal gold mining activities.
“We believe the deceased and his friends came here in search of gold when the roof of the shaft caved in on him,” he said, adding that police had classified the case as sudden death.
According to Sabri, the site was the same location where police arrested 46 persons last month for illegal mining activities.
He said following the arrests, police and workers of a joint-venture company tasked with surveying the area had sealed off the entrance of the shaft using boulders.
“Unfortunately, this did not deter the prospectors, who continued to trespass into the area in the dead of night and used a winch to shift away the rocks blocking the entrance,” he added, revealing that most of those involved were found to be labourers and other daily-paid workers hoping to make easy money.
Following the deadly collapse, Sabri advised those thinking of mining gold illegally not to sacrifice their lives in their quest for fast money.
“Think of your family and not just of your personal financial gain. Jobs are aplenty and there are many other safer ways to earn a living.”
He added that although it was not possible to monitor the area round the clock due to lack of manpower, the police will nevertheless increase the frequency of patrols at the site to halt incidents of trespassing and illegal mining.
Among those present at the scene yesterday were Bau district officer Tom Hem Mijod and officers from government departments and agencies.
The hive of illegal gold mining activities in the district was triggered by record prices of the precious metal in the world market.
In November last year, The Borneo Post reported that several freshly-dug out tunnels could be seen at the entrance of Gunung Tabai as locals became caught up in the gold rush fever.