Body recovered, search continues after Solomons mine landslide

Solomon Islands police said Tuesday they had recovered the first body from a landslide at a gold mine, but it was "too early" to confirm how many people remained buried.

The landslide at the Gold Ridge mine, around 25 kilometres (16 miles) southeast of the Pacific nation's capital Honiara, took place about 2:00 am local time on Monday (1500 GMT Sunday), the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force said in a statement.

Acting Police Commissioner James Aitorea said the landslide had covered an area of 100 metres (328 feet) on an access road into the Gold Ridge mine's Pit 1, and police were working on a recovery plan with mine security officers.

The body of a Central Guadalcanal man was recovered around 10:00 am on Tuesday, and he was handed over to his family for burial, the statement said.

"Confirming how many are still buried underground is still too early at the moment," it said.

Ten distressed families had reported to the Tetere Police Station that male family members were missing at the mine site, a Tetere police officer told AFP by telephone earlier on Tuesday.

Residents who were not employed by the mining company were known to have been accessing the site to search for gold, and are believed to be among the missing.

Walton Naezon, a local chief and a director of Gold Ridge Mining, told AFP there are "too many illegal miners in the mining lease area" who had come from the city and surrounding areas.

Naezon said only one body had been recovered from the site.

A resident who lives near the remote mine told AFP on Monday that families were searching for relatives at the disaster scene, and authorities had needed to wait for machinery to clear the ground of large boulders and a wide area of rubble.

"People are crying for their loved ones," resident Milie Luvu said on Monday.

A video posted to social media by a local resident on Tuesday showed a dozen rescue workers carrying what appeared to be a body in a blanket from the landslide.

Police said locals should "stay clear of the site as recovery efforts continue and an investigation into the incident begins".

Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation said on Tuesday its reporters, as well as those from other media outlets, had been blocked from accessing the area around the mine.

Gold Ridge said in a statement that the "incident was limited to a restricted, non-operational area of the mine", and its mining operations were continuing.

Gold Ridge is owned by the Hong Kong stock exchange listed Wanguo International Mining, which says its main business is mining in China and the Solomon Islands.

The mine is a significant contributor to the Solomons' economy and began an expansion last year.