They are searching for survivors at the site, in the Bolaang Mongondow area, on the island of Sulawesi.

Seven people have died and at least 19 have been rescued, officials say.

Rescuers are hampered by the steep terrain and muddy, unstable ground, which means heavy lifting machinery cannot be used.

They are having to use their bare hands, as well as spades and ropes, to get people out. The survivors are being carried away in makeshift stretchers.

One local official said cracks had appeared at the mine, which collapsed on Tuesday and triggered a landslide, raising fears of a further collapse.

Dozens of people were mining for gold when support beams gave way at the mine due to shifting soil land and numerous mining shafts, officials said. The collapse then triggered a landslide.

Indonesia country profile
A local official said it was difficult to say exactly how many were trapped underground:

"We think there are still many people inside the mine, because it is an illegal mine, so we cannot predict," said Yasti Soepredjo, head of the Bolaang Mongondow region.

"Based on statements from people who survived, the numbers are inconsistent. Some say there were more than 100 in the mine, some said about 80. We are still in the dark when it comes to the actual number."

Small-scale gold mining is banned in Indonesia but remains widespread in rural areas. Lack of regulation and the poor construction of makeshift mines means accidents are relatively frequent.

Campaigners have long argued that a lack of local employment opportunities mean people feel forced to rely on illegal mining.

Australian Ambassador Mr Dave Vosen and GIZ Country Director in Mongolia, Mr Daniel Passon signed a contract to extend the assistance for a further 2 years. The project aims to increase employment opportunities in mining and related sectors.

“The Australian Government is pleased to be able to build the skills of local communities and Mongolian citizens and thereby provide increased opportunities to benefit from Mongolia’s economic development,” said Ambassador Vosen. “Quality vocational education is important to enable Mongolian youth to actively participate and benefit in economic development.

The project, managed by the German Aid Agency, GIZ, will strengthen the curricula for courses offered at the Dalanzadgad Polytechnic College, build the capacity of teaching staff, implement short courses targeting practical working skills, for the unemployed, and continue strengthening of the welding hall responsive to Mongolian weather conditions to allow all-year safe teaching in welding. Also it will implement new courses in industrial mechanics, welding and bricklaying, provide career guidance services to assist graduates find employment and mainstream disability and gender inclusiveness in curricular and teaching methods.

The project started in 2014 and with the extension, will be completing in March 2021.

The project works closely with the South Gobi Government and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. The assistance provided to Dalanzadgad is one component of a larger project funded by Australia, Germany, and Switzerland working across Mongolia’s 11 provinces to improve the quality of technical and vocational education, and provide the workforce required for Mongolia’s future prosperity.

Source: Australian Embassy, Ulaanbaatar

Mongolian Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, Mongolian Minister of Construction and Urban Development Khavdislam Badyelkhan and Chinese Ambassador to Mongolia Xing Haiming attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the plant in the Songino Khairkhan district of Ulan Bator.

"The Mongolian government's action plan (2016-2020) reflects a goal to renovate waste water treatment plants in Ulan Bator and other cities, and build new ones," Khurelsukh said at the ceremony.

"I am happy that within the framework of the goal, a waste water treatment plant will be built in the capital city with soft loans from the Chinese government," Khurelsukh said, while expressing confidence that the plant will help improve the city's environment.

The existing waste water processing plant in Ulan Bator does not have a system of processing silt and waste silt, and heavy metals are dried up outside causing air pollution.

For his part, Xing said, "The project is a vivid symbol of the solid friendship and close cooperation between our two countries."

The Chinese ambassador also expressed hope that bilateral relations and friendship between the two peoples will further expand.

According to the Mongolian Minister of Construction and Urban Development, the waste water treatment plant to be completed in 2020 will have the capacity to purify 250,000 cubic meters of waste water a day.

The Boeing 737-500 aircraft will fly on Mondays and Tuesdays; the flight will last 3 hours and 20 minutes.

SCAT Air Company was established and started operations in 1997. The company operates 18 domestic and 33 international routes.

The countries of the Northeast Asian Region are interested in co-implementing a number of projects including constructing electricity-transferring lines, pipes and coal trading. This is important for providing those countries lacking energy reserves with reliable sources of power. In connection with this, Mongolia has been promoting an initiative called the “Asian Super Network”.

It is estimated that Mongolia has 15 thousand Terawatt reserves of renewable energy. If it properly exploits the reserves, the country could become a key supplier of energy to the regional market. International organisations have calculated that energy consumption in Northeast Asia is expected to almost double by 2040.

“Since 1997, Education Loan Fund has granted loans worth USD52.3 million to 1893 students who studied abroad, of which USD37.7 million has been refunded so far. Farmers’ Promotion Fund was found to have breaches of MNT140 billion, of which MNT47 billion was connected with procurement bids. For instance, Darkhanii Guril Tejeel Company which has debts worth MNT5.2 billion won the bid on procuring a grain elevator. As a result, the grain elevator which was bought by MNT8 billion does not meet quality requirements and is impossible to be used. Also, a regulation on granting wheat incentives was annulled in 2012. However, wheat incentives were issued by using this annulled regulation since then. Other violations have been also found that entities which have debts to government were selected in tenders. Therefore, the funds' activities have to be upgraded. In common, the Cabinet assigned to make funds’ activities transparent, ensure involvement of professional associations in decision making and enforce the Law on Glass Accounts,” added the Finance Minister.

The list includes 155 types of goods of 14 categories being produced by domestic businesses. As compared with previous list, a number of good types have been increased by three-fold. It is an evidence of domestic enterprises’ development and being capable of producing many types of goods, emphasized the Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry Ch.Ulaan.

He said, “The Government announced 2019 as ‘Year of promoting patriotic purchase’. In this scope, it lists certified products with verification of conformity and a policy will be implemented to purchase these goods and products as basic terms of tenders.”

A total of 831 structure fires were reported across the country since the beginning of this year, up 14.9 percent from the same period last year, NEMA said.

But the amount of economic losses caused by the fires decreased by 73.4 percent compared to the same period last year, the agency said, adding that the fires caused losses of 2.1 billion Mongolian tugriks (around 797,000 U.S. dollars).

Mongolian firefighters have saved the lives of 193 people and properties worth 12.3 billion Mongolian tugriks (around 4.6 million dollars) from the fires since the beginning of this year, according to NEMA.

NEMA noted that the negligence of citizens and relevant officials of organizations, and electrical short-circuits were the main causes of the fires.

The meeting was co-chaired by D.Davaasuren, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia and Kong Xuanyou, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China.

During the consultation, the two sides assessed the current state of relations between the two countries and talked on realizing agreements reached at high level and within bilateral cooperation mechanisms and enriching economic cooperation with new content. Moreover, they touched upon development of humanitarian exchanges between the two countries, activities to take place in scope of the 70th year anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and China which falls this year, advancement of cooperation projects, as well as trilateral, bilateral and regional cooperation issues.