SYDNEY, July 27, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Residents and police searched for survivors 
on Monday after a landslide at a gold mine in the Solomon Islands, a witness 
and officials told AFP.

The landslide at the Chinese-owned Gold Ridge mine, around 25 kilometres (16 
miles) southeast of the Pacific nation's capital Honiara, took place just 
after midnight in an open pit, the company said.

Officials have not provided a death toll, but local media outlet In-depth 
Solomons reported 10 bodies had been recovered at the site.

Milie Luvu, who lives near the remote mine, said he was "tired and exhausted" 
as he searched for missing relatives.

"People are crying for their loved ones," he told AFP.

"We are very sad at the moment."

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 
victims.

Police, engineers, fire and emergency workers and village chiefs gathered for 
a ceremony involving a pig which was performed above the mine before the 
recovery of bodies could proceed, an official said.

Video posted by Luvu to social media showed locals searching among large 
boulders and a wide area of rubble.

"Police officers are around but they have to wait for machinery to clear the 
ground before discovering the bodies," he told AFP.

In Honiara, the National Referral Hospital said it was expecting to receive 
fatalities.

"Some have passed away," hospital worker Lyrex Alick told AFP.

Gold Ridge Mining, which owns the mine, said in a preliminary statement it 
could not confirm injuries or fatalities and was working with the Royal 
Solomon Islands Police Force.

The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force declined to comment on a death toll.

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

Chinese firm Wanguo International Mining, majority owner of Gold Ridge 
Mining, said in May the mine contributed almost a quarter of the country's 
gross domestic product last year.

Wanguo did not respond to requests for comment.

The country's new prime minister, Matthew Wale, has recently flagged sweeping 
reform of the mining sector to return more revenue to the local economy.