Four dead, 25 trapped in Freeport-McMoRan mine in Indonesia the Grasberg mining area of Freeport-McMoRan's mining company is inspected in 2009. THE death toll from an accident at a US-owned mine in remote eastern Indonesia rose to four, as rescuers struggled to reach 23 workers still trapped underground in a collapsed tunnel. Ten people have been rescued alive following the accident early yesterday at Freeport-McMoRan's Grasberg, one of the world's biggest gold and copper mines that is high in the mountains of rugged Papua province. It was the latest problem for the mine, which was hit by a major strike in 2011 that crippled production. "The rescue team has found 14 people - four were dead and 10 have been rescued alive," local police chief Sudirman, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP. A total of 25 workers are believed to be still trapped in the debris and rescue and recovery work is continuing. The company added that rescue efforts by a Freeport team "have been hampered by the confined and restricted space within the tunnel." He said all 14 found were Indonesians. Employees and contractors were in a classroom in the tunnel, part of a training facility and not one of the mining areas, when it caved in, according to Freeport's Indonesian subsidiary. Three people managed to escape immediately, leaving 39 initially trapped underground. "This is a very sad day for us," said Freeport Indonesia president Rozik B. Soetjipto. Police and the firm have said the rescue operation will be difficult and could take some time due to the remote location and inhospitable terrain. Freeport has said it does not expect the accident to affect production. It did not disclose the nationalities of all 37 workers involved in the accident, but the vast majority of the more than 24,000 employees at Grasberg are Indonesian. It was only ended when the firm agreed to a huge pay hike. Earlier this month, some 1,100 workers employed by Freeport contractors staged a three-day strike over pay but it caused only minimal disruption to production.