11 killed as landslides hit coal mine in Indonesia's South Sumatra

Landslides hit a coal mine in Indonesia's western province of South Sumatra on Wednesday afternoon, a senior disaster agency official said on Thursday.

The incident took place in an unlicensed mine located in Tanjung Lalang village of Muara Enim district at about 16:00 p.m. local time Wednesday, said Iriansyah, head of operational and emergency unit of the Provincial Disaster Management Agency.

The landslides occurred when the miners were opening an access to reach a site in the mine, he said.

"The eleven miners were buried in a depth of about eight meters. The coal mine is classified as a traditional mine," he told Xinhua.

"The condition of the soils at the hill around the incident site is unstable, making it vulnerable to landslides," the official said, citing there were no rains during the incident.

All the bodies have been retrieved after heavy machinery equipment was deployed to the scene, Iriansyah added.