Gold Ridge tragedy: Illegal Mine entry blamed as recovery continues

Recovery efforts are underway at the Gold Ridge mine in the Solomon Islands following a ground collapse that occurred on Monday. A body was recovered from the debris on Tuesday, identified as Ashley Olo from the nearby Mamasa community.

Gold Ridge Mining Ltd (GRML) stated that Olo's body was recovered from the north-west edge of the non-operational section of Open Pit 1. The company reported that Olo had "unlawfully entered at night the mine’s exclusion zone, despite clear warnings and barricades." His body has since been returned to his relatives for burial.

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We’ve received reports that this individual had unlawfully entered at night the mine’s exclusion zone, despite clear warnings and barricades.

The ground collapse affected an estimated 100-meter section of the western access road leading into Pit 1. It remains unclear how many individuals might still be trapped underground. Acting police commissioner James Aitorea confirmed that the situation is still being assessed and the number of buried persons cannot yet be confirmed.

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It is still too early to confirm how many are still buried underground.

GRML emphasized that the tragedy did not affect any of its employees, and eyewitnesses indicated the victims were non-mine employees engaged in unauthorized gold extraction. The company is cooperating fully with police in the investigation and strongly urges the public to avoid unauthorized gold extraction or entry into restricted, hazardous pit areas.

Meanwhile, the Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI) expressed disappointment over local journalists being denied access to the landslide site. MASI President Ofani Eremae stressed the importance of media access for informing the public about major national issues and called for authorities to be available to journalists during such incidents.

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The Gold Ridge landslide was a major national issue and that the public expected timely and accurate information about the incident, yet local media representatives were prevented from accessing the site.