Three miners killed in Sumbawa landslide at illegal gold mine

Sumbawa — — Three miners were killed and six others injured after a landslide at an illegal gold-mining site in Lawang Tua, Lantung subdistrict, Sumbawa district, West Nusa Tenggara, on Saturday night, Sept. 5, 2026, local reports said.

The collapse occurred around 9:30 p.m. WITA when rocks and soil fell from a cliff onto workers collecting material below, according to local media citing initial police and disaster-agency accounts.

One miner died at the scene, while two others died later during treatment at Lantung Community Health Center, the reports said. Six injured workers were taken for medical care, and later reports said three were referred to the provincial hospital while three others were discharged.

Police have sealed off the site and are investigating the cause of the collapse. Provincial and district officials also sent teams to examine the location and check whether the operation had the required mining permit, or IPR, according to local government and media reports.

Sumbawa District Head Syarafuddin Jarot said mining activity at the site had been halted, and that the district would not allow the operation to resume while the case was being reviewed, local outlets reported. Separate reports said authorities were also checking whether the area fell inside an approved people’s mining zone.

The landslide has sharpened scrutiny of unlicensed mining in Sumbawa, where officials had previously warned that illegal operations should stop, according to the reports. Investigators have not publicly identified a responsible operator or issued a final finding on the permit status of the site in the reports reviewed.

Sources

• detikBali
• RRI Mataram
• NTBSatu