The death toll from a coal mine explosion in Colombia nearly
doubled to 21 after the bodies of ten miners were found on
Wednesday, Azernews reports, citing Yahoo.
Rescue teams had been scrambling to pull out the miners, who
were trapped underground after the blast as relatives waited for
news nearby.
The local governor says nine people made it out alive.
Authorities say accumulated gas in six coal mines linked to one
another exploded on Tuesday in a rural area north of the capital,
Bogota.
Colombia’s national mining agency has suspended all activities
at the mines as authorities investigate what led to the
incident.
Irene Velez is the country’s mines minister.
Irene Velez/Minister of Mines and Energy
“The rescuers had to travel almost two miles to reach where the
last miners were found at night. The bodies had to be dragged
nearly a mile. It was really a collaborative work of all the forces
and, so, they’re physically fatigue.”
Fatal accidents like this are common in Colombia’s coal and gold
mines, especially at illegal or informal facilities.
Last year alone, Colombia’s mining agency reported 117 accidents
at mines killing 146 people.
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