ONE man was reported dead, while two of his friends escaped unhurt in a cave-in at the Sarawak town of Bau, 24km from Kuching, while on an illegal gold mining trip.

The victim, identified as 25-year-old Mat Tapa, was killed in a second cave-in, said Sarawak fire chief Khiruddin Drahman.

Khiruddin said the victim survived the first cave-in but he got separated from his two friends, and trapped, when rocks and boulders blocked the entrance of a “small hole” he had crawled into to look for gold.

He said the hole was about 80m to 92m deep.

While rescuers managed to dig his two friends out, they found it much harder to reach Mat.

The fire chief said it was while they were digging to reach him that the second cave-in occurred.

“The rock wall collapsed on him.”

Rescue workers stopped digging for fear of further cave-ins.

Khiruddin said the retrieval operation now is “extremely dangerous” as the rocks are “unstable”.

“We’re still trying to figure out our options,” he said.

Khiruddin said the operation now is not a race against time to reach the victim.

“The priority is to make sure no rescuers are hurt in the dig,” he said.

The three men reportedly left for the limestone hill, Gunung Tabai, late yesterday evening.

The hill, even though it is in a restricted area, has been a magnet for young people in surrounding villages hoping to strike a fortune.

Mat’s family told authorities he was seen leaving the house at around 5.30pm without telling them where he was going.

When he failed to return home, villagers summoned the Fire and Rescue Department.

They were surprised when they found three men were trapped inside a small cavern. – March 24, 2021.