Palu, Indonesia – A person is dead and two are missing after a nickel waste removal site collapsed on Sulawesi Island in Indonesia, authorities said on Wednesday. It was the last deadly accident in nickel smelting plants financed by Chinese there.
Indonesian victims were operating volunteer trucks on Saturday when they were wrapped by a material similar to the sludge that is eliminated in Ferronickel Burning, said Deddy Kurniawan, spokesman for the PT Indonesia Indonesia Morowali industrial park, known as PT IMIP.
The collapse occurred after torrential rains.
The body of a 23 -year -old was removed one day after the accident, and two others fear dead under tons of waste material, police said.
The authorities are investigating whether the company’s negligence caused death, police said.
Nickel smelting plants in Indonesia are part of the China Global Development Program known as the Belt and Road initiative. Almost 50% of PT IMIP shares are owned by a Chinese holding company, and the rest are owned by two Indonesian companies.
Nickel is a key component of batteries for electric vehicles.
In December 2023, about 21 workers, including eight ChineseHe died when the Indonesian pt oven Tsingshan Steel exploded while repaired. The accident occurred Within an industrial area based on nickel processing under the management of PT IMIP.
In 2022, a truck ran and killed a Chinese worker while repairing a road in the PT IMIP mining area.
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Associated Press Niniek Karmini writer in Yakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.
