Deadliest Roads | Java | Free Documentary

[Music] me [Music] [Music] uh i'm a slave to the volcano i can't take it anymore this man has sulfur in his lungs and i don't know how much time he has left to live i love this volcano i respect it because my life and my family depend on it my father did everything for me to succeed in my studies he will not stop working until i succeed in life [Music] the pacific ring of fire nine in ten of the world's volcanoes are concentrated on this arc in indonesia on the island of java stands kawaii one of the most dangerous and unpredictable volcanoes in the world yet every day hundreds of miners venture below ground to extract a valuable mineral sulfur all day long loaded like donkeys they cross paths along this dangerous route with on one side of precipice on the other toxic vapors they are known as the convict workers of sulphur at the foot of kawaiigen miners and their families use the particularly fertile land to grow rice and coffee the volcano feeds them but they fear it according to legend the crater and its smoke marks the doors to hell [Music] it's four o'clock in the morning at the foot of kawa egen mattresson age 31 heads off in the pickup truck heading for the volcano [Music] about 50 other miners piled into the truck the trip takes more than an hour [Music] the road is narrow slippery and full of potholes the driver zigzags between the holes [Music] and some stayed crouched hidden in the bottom of the truck then others got on making sure i couldn't see them in my rear view mirror so i continued to drive and when i got to the hill the trucks fortunately there were no casualties [Music] despite the hell that awaits them the men are in a good mood for mattresson and the others the work day begins with a two-hour walk a warm-up before facing the dangers of the volcano mattresson has been a miner since the age of 13. yet he is still scared every time he makes the descent into the crater this place is very dangerous because there are landslides and then the volcano also produces highly toxic gases you have to pay attention to what you're doing especially when you work always be fully alert at the bottom of the volcano pipes collect molten sulfur when it's brought up the contact with cold air hardens it and the miners break it down with an iron bar the work of these men looks simple enough yet it is fraught with danger [Music] at any time the wind may carry toxic acid fumes which burns their lungs it's like swallowing boiling water no miner here can afford a gas mask their only protection is a simple scarf after an hour of digging around in the belly of kawaii mattresson has extracted 80 kilos of sulfur the slopes are very hard to climb but for me the hardest part is the one that starts at the bottom of the crater to reach the summit he must trudge about 500 meters with 80 kilos on his back each step is painful [Applause] i'm exhausted today and mattresson has made one quarter of the walk when i drink water it tastes very bitter the bitterness is caused by the sulfur and its distinctive smell of rotten eggs that permeates all the pores of the skin i know that smoking cigarettes is bad for your health but i don't care i just need it to remove the bitter taste in my mouth the porters of kawaii must tread carefully the slightest misstep means a fall which could be fatal here the rocks are unstable and i remember seeing a miner die in a landslide there's no time to rest as thick smoke is rising towards him acidic gas highly toxic that in the long term causes bronchitis fluids in the lung and cancer mattresson needs to hurry the cloud is snapping at his heels within seconds the vapors envelop him despite his scarf his lungs burn it's a shooting pain made breathless by the gas mattresson has taken two hours to reach the summit of the crater he still has five kilometers to go but they're easier mattresson now moves forward on a flat path and can use his method which is a kind of dance punctuated by the squeaking of baskets i have a technique to avoid losing balance i move my feet to the way my baskets are balanced so i have a rhythm and it's much easier after a 20-minute descent mattresson arrives at the first stage halfway between the crater and the factory this is where the miners weigh their baskets it weighs 75 kilos but yesterday i did much more than that i had 86 kilos today i don't feel so well i feel weak a few men are able to carry more than 80 kilos in one go [Music] mattresson is among the most successful miners his record stands at 116 kilos like his colleagues he receives no salary the factory pays them by weight it's one way for the boss to encourage miners to carry even more the rate is five euro cents per kilo of sulfur the miners are paid at each delivery often with a company accountant paying them in candy or cigarettes to make up the small change today i brought two loads and earned eight euros eight euros for 160 kilos of sulfur and an 11 hour work day metroson earns between 150 and 200 euros a month twice the average wage in indonesia each day the hundreds of miners at kawa egen bring up 10 tons of sulfur [Music] it is used in indonesia to bleach sugar and paper pulp to make matches even explosives it's also found in some cosmetics as this is a very pure volcanic sulphur the ore simply needs washing then filtering to make it ready for market for every kilo sole the factory pockets 35 euro cents seven times what it pays to the miners it's now 4 p.m and mattresson returns home exhausted he lives an hour's drive from the factory in a small wooden house with his wife and three children [Music] i can't afford real tiles with water coming in from the roof the whole floor quickly becomes mud and sometimes we don't have enough money to buy any so we just go without there's no radio or television everything mattress and earns goes towards the education of its three children there are a few distractions so whenever there's a village feast no one wants to miss it matrison wants to show his children what is happening inside this tent [Music] at first glance one would think it's a play in fact it's a shamanic ceremony the men dance until the gods of the volcano wake up although the villagers are all muslims many still believe in these pagan gods [Music] the men dance until they're in a trance then spirits enter their bodies and completely possess them they can eat anything given to them like coconut or flowers but worse they swallow glowing embers or pieces of glass they've become unaware of everything and have no idea what they're doing [Music] like this man who has swallowed a glass jar if it injures him it will be a bad omen the gods would be angry and wake up the [Music] volcano so not to risk it the shaman ends the man's trance my role is to invoke the spirits so they enter the bodies of the dancers and when i feel it's getting dangerous i make sure the spirits leave their bodies the volcano is feared as far away as in the valley but not for its eruptions of molten rock or lava flows kawaiijan is dangerous because of gas explosions it accumulates in the waters of the lake to form a bubble that bursts like a bomb this is what seismologists fear [Music] the seismograph can detect the slightest twitch of the volcano it's imperative the crater is under surveillance 24 7. and even when everything seems calm if ever there were an increase in seismic activity the volcanologist would immediately prevent access to the volcano one of the most deadly happened 30 years ago it was 11 o'clock in the morning when a huge gas bubble burst on the surface of the water that day there were many people in the crater 60 miners and reporters and he fainted too eleven other men were also affected four of them died two were very close friends of mine that was very sad on average there's an explosion every four years but within the crater the danger comes from the sulfur itself on this particular day the men are worried are leaks it paralyzes production but more importantly there are too many toxic fumes there's too much smoke we must put a tube through here the only way to fix the problem is to step into the furnace the men who risked their lives repairing the pipes are called a volcano mechanics with their ridiculous masks they would probably survive no more than five minutes in the ultra corrosive cauldron so speed is off the essence the leaks are finally sealed but a few minutes later there's a new problem this time it's a fire there's a fire the temperature is 600 degrees the rocks are molten they're burning if we don't manage to extinguish the fire the entire production of sulfur might go up in flames sulfur tends to ignite easily in the open air and on the site there are several fires each day usually they are quickly extinguished with this water pump only this morning the pump has broken down [Music] yes but has been damaged very quickly this is because of the sulfur it's so acidic some porters have been waiting patiently for over five hours to start work and concern is growing because soon as on every afternoon the winds will turn and toxic fumes will invade the crater when the pump finally starts working again it's almost too late left the fire is invisible it's hidden behind the smoke screen and to put it out men must in turn again enter the fog of smoke a very dangerous area you always have to be careful it's impossible to make anything else these men who constantly flirt with death are employed by the company that operates the mind all are former miners who no longer have the strength to carry the heavy loads of sulphur like andy who began working in the crater at the age of 15. and he had to stop working as a porter because of shoulder problems it was very painful and every time he carried his baskets his shoulders began to bleed and he is less than 40 years old he's a man we know well 12 years ago we had already filmed him at kawaii at the time he was still carrying sulfur we'd been moved by his story as he showed us his physical suffering and opened the doors to his home we returned to his home to show him the report that we'd made he watches along with his family you see that's where your father works yep there it is i was younger then i could carry sulfur with my friends then now i'm not strong enough as the film progresses there's an uncomfortable silence and he remains impassive while his wife and daughter are glued to the screen and looking worried they understand the pain and suffering he endured for years a reality he had preferred not to talk about that especially during those days and he never complained about his working conditions [Music] and he never wanted to talk about his work not out of shame but out of modesty at the time he had said he worked mainly for his daughter the most important thing for me is her i wanted to be educated and get a job that's better than mine i wanted to go to primary school college and university today andy continues to work for his family but since he no longer carries sulfur his salary has been half so when he's not at the volcano he works in the fields so that we can always have something to eat at home the money i own at the mine is exclusively for the studies of my daughter the school which andy's daughter attends is a two-hour drive from their house for her to continue her studies he continues to make sacrifices i found a studio for my daughter to be closer to her school and i pay the rent every month in school andy's daughter is taking graduate studies in tourism at 20 she is the oldest child and the great hope of the family my father's work means he can't be with me very often or with my mother or my brother but he does everything to make me have confidence in myself so i can succeed in my studies and i don't think he will stop working until i have made a success of my life too he gives me so much hope i absolutely must succeed in my studies so that my mom and dad's dream will finally come true in this indonesian province education remains the only means of escaping poverty for those who are not so lucky there will always be the volcano this is his first day working at kawaii mattresson has agreed to teach him the ropes training begins with the choice of baskets this one it's not bad it's not very rigid so you can load 20 kilos unemployed like one in three people in this indonesian province watan had no choice i used to work in construction but right now there's no work and i have to help my parents which is why i've come to work here i'm still a little afraid because i've never worked as a porter carrying sulfur just now when i took the path up to here i was totally out of breath and yet i wasn't even carrying anything i'm sure late it'll be much worse but to stack the odds in his favor watan the apprentice has decided to start with the smaller baskets those that can carry only 20 kilos so as not to obstruct those who are coming up on the descent the young man begins to feel more confident that he's soon disillusioned when they reach the pipes and the smoke i have a hard time breathing put your handkerchief in your mouth and start with this piece here [Music] and then you take it out like this go on grab it good good keep going now pick it up now all right lift it tries faintly to overcome his uneasiness so it's mattress and he must do the work for him because it's very hard the next challenge is to deal with the baskets i'll show you the proper technique to carry a basket first off you squat down like this now put the bamboo rod on one of your shoulders put your hands there and stand up now put them down again [Music] and thongs the ascent is a nightmare even with boots on his feet matcheson has also had enough you'll get dizzy looking at such small people down in the crater you must only look where you put your feet and it's important that you don't look anywhere else [Music] will stop eight times in the course of the day waiting for his apprentice to catch his breath and when the two men do reach the summit of the crater watan's feet are in a sorry state it hurts here and over there too and here to hold on both men will put in another hour and a half to reach the weighing scales but to waten it's a victory of sorts come here and grab this this is the company needs to give me a salary that is in line with the work which is really very very demanding but for the so-called sulfur convicts only the strongest men managed to earn a decent living and watan who today has collected only 30 kilos of sulfur will pocket just one and a half euros between the crater and the factory at 2 000 meters above sea level 15 men live in these shacks without running water or electricity most are part of the maintenance team here's andy again the exporter that we had filmed 12 years earlier he spends two weeks a month here without going home [Music] i am the slave of the volcano but what can i do it keeps in the village hey look we ate all the vegetables so all he's got left are the broth and the peppers those peppers will blow his socks off [Music] for nightfall is at five in the afternoon the men [Music] the next morning he will have to begin work as early as possible to make up for lost time with his young apprentice at nighttime the temperature inside the cabin drops below 5 degrees to protect themselves against the cold the miners sleep fully clothed it's just an old potato sack for andy like mattresson the knight will be a very short one [Music] it's really hard to leave for work at two o'clock in the morning andy and mattresson are far from being the first on the slopes of the volcano on the flanks of the crater a dozen furtive shadows are already flitting about you can't see them but they can be heard at the bottom of the crater a nasty surprise awaits according to andy the mechanic these are the blue flames produced by burning sulphur and there's a fire that's getting bigger if i can't put out the fire all the porters will have it in for me and my boss will be furious the sulphur won't make it through and i won't be paid if by day putting out the fire is difficult by night it's hell this is dangerous [Music] especially now that the water pump has broken down again uh and once again andy has to get close to the flames with buckets of water [Music] for his part mattresson is already at work while they're only 30 in the 1980s today the miners are now in their hundreds trying to eke out a living on the volcano and often there's not always work for everyone mattress and takes advantage of the night to pick up as much sulfur as possible before his competitors arrive it will take him barely 20 minutes to fill his baskets the disadvantage is that in the darkness the climb up is even more dangerous than in the daytime one misstep means plunging into the ravine [Music] at night you see nothing it's too dark and it's complicated we are forced to use a torch and you have to walk very slowly while during the day we're much faster of course right here on my back ugh as day breaks matterson hurries off to drop his sulphur the more quickly to return to the volcano and stay ahead of the other miners because of the fire there's less sulfur much of it has been destroyed today for example i filled up the baskets with sulphur to be ready when i come back along tomorrow morning that way i just need to pick them up appointment he's been breathing in acid gas fumes all day and he's beginning to worry [Music] so for the first time in his life he's decided to consult a doctor [Music] [Music] because of money very few miners ever see a doctor [Music] my legs and back hurt and then i hurt my shoulder this shoulder here is very strong but when i'm tired i change and i put my baskets on this shoulder and sometimes it's infected well one moment one moment is that pus coming out it's because of the weight of baskets you have the same thing on the other side yeah but not as much a lot when i'm in the crater and sometimes when i'm stuck in the smoke i vomit [Music] but it's the state of his lungs rather than his shoulders that worries the doctor mattresson is 31 years old usually miners don't seek such treatment he has made the effort to reassure his family but above all he's hoping that the doctor will not ask him to stop working [Music] and i really can't tell you how much longer he has left to live the life expectancy of those who work on the crater floor rarely exceeds 40 years [Music] but what happens to those who are no longer healthy enough to work on the volcano in this farming village about 30 miles from kawa egen lives a former sulphur miner at 52 saji can no longer work he's sick only the massages his wife gives him managed to relieve the pain in his body i started working in the crater at the age of 16. but 10 years ago i had to stop working i had pains all over my back i went to the clinic and then to see a healer but i'm still not cured the former minor has lost everything his health and his work now it's dildic the eldest son who will support the family he too has become a sulfur convict [Music] i taught my son the trade when he was still very young [Music] now he's 18. and with everything that i taught him you'll become a good sulphur miner [Music] is here when the miners are not working for their children it is their children who work for them my goal in life is not very complicated really i'd like only to build a house and be able to take care of my parents and my brother and sisters and be sure they want for nothing these days once again there isn't much work the fire destroyed some of the stocks of sulfur there are too many people digging and there is not enough cellphone so i must wait but if necessary i can stay here until midnight or all night in order to fill up my baskets he's finally found some sulfur but it's not very large to complete his load he forages for pieces left by others [Music] his baskets are loaded with 80 kilos almost twice his own weight tildek is able to carry them but he's waited too long on the crater floor and has forgotten the gas usually invades the slope in the afternoon yeah the back of my throat really feel it burning the young man is part of the new generation one that will take over from the old miners who still believe in dragons and spirits such as these men who go to the bottom of the crater carrying the head of a goat they've sacrificed to be sure that the kawaii will not become angry every year they offer it this present we make the sacrifice for the safety of the miners there have already been too many casualties among our comrades some have been injured by falling stones others have been buried by landslides and down there there are others who have fallen into the acid lake so it's better to kill a goat than to see our friends die for 200 years the sulfur workers have been taking the perilous paths at kawaii the volcano remains as active as ever to survive mattresson andy tildik and the others may have to work for a lot longer in the land of the sulphur convicts [Music] so [Music] you

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, most dangerous roads, most dangerous journeys, worlds most dangerous roads, worlds most dangerous journeys, deadliest roads, deadliest roads in the world, dicing with death, deadliest journeys, deadliest journeys java, dicing with death java, dangerous java, most dangerous roads java, dangerous roads java, deadliest roads java, java

Id: ll2fQxvnsn4

Length: 51min 3sec (3063 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 17 2021