Helicopters are being used to evacuate the victims of a landslide that left at least 23 people dead in East Tulabolo, Indonesia's Gorontalo Province.

Head of the Gorontalo Search and Rescue Office, Hariyanto, said that 23 have been confirmed dead whilst 81 survived and another 33 are still missing.

It is believed that the landslides were to have occurred as a result of mounting piles of waste resulting from mining activities that have been going on for decades and the high intensity of rain resulting in landslides, and not landslides in the mine pit.

The number of landslide victims who were found dead in the gold mining area in East Tulabolo Village, East Suwawa District, Bone Bolango Regency, Gorontalo Province, Indonesia, has reached 23 people dead, 81 people survived with serious injuries, 33 people disappeared in the landslide.

Head of the Gorontalo Search and Rescue Office, Hariyanto, said that the total number of victims recorded and confirmed was 137 people.

"In detail, 23 people died, 81 people survived, and 33 people are still being searched for," said Hariyanto on Wednesday, July 10 2024.

Meanwhile the joint search and rescue team used a helicopter to evacuate the victims.

Apart from that, the Gorontalo Regional Police brought in helicopters to help with the evacuation process for victims of the landslide disaster.

"The difficulty of the terrain and the rain that is still pouring down on Gorontalo Province is currently an obstacle for joint search and rescue officers to be able to get to the location where the landslide occurred, which is also very far away and takes a very long time because it is in the interior, so we are deploying 1 type of helicopter. "AW 169 Register P-3304 to evacuate the victims who were still at the scene," said Head of Public Relations of the Gorontalo Regional Police, Police Commissioner Desmont Harjendro.

Meanwhile, the joint search and rescue team that was deployed numbered around 1,200 people, of which around 400 people were at the landslide location and are still continuing to search for 33 victims who are thought to have died in the landslide.

It is known that landslides are thought to have occurred as a result of mounting piles of waste resulting from mining activities that have been going on for decades and the high intensity of rain resulting in landslides, and not landslides in the mine pit.

"This mining activity has been carried out by residents since the 1980s," said Achril Babyonggo, Chief Executive of the Bone Bolango Regency Regional Disaster Management Agency.