MOBILE BRIGADE TEAM DEPLOYED AT MINE BLAST LOCATION

Padang, June 17 (ANTARA) - A search and rescue team (SAR) from the police's Mobile Brigade unit has been deployed to help evacuate miners trapped in a pit following a huge explosion at a coal mine in West Sumatra.

Nine people had been found dead so far while 27 others were still trapped in a pit tens of meters under the ground following a blast at around 10am in a coal mine in Ngalau Cagak, Sawahlunto, West Sumatra, on Tuesday.

The team from Brimob from the West Sumatra police command came with evacuation equipment to help evacuate the trapped workers.

Fourteen workers outside the pit had also been wounded after the blast that had caused flames and other materials rising up to 50 meters high from the pit.

The Brimob team had to be assisted by local SAR teams and workers who knew the conditions in the pit that had many access channels.

Until Tuesday evening the teams had been able to discover only nine bodies from the pit and evacucate nine others who were wounded.