Three of the 14 miners who were stranded died after Monday’s explosion at a coal mine in Colombia’s El Zulia municipality (east), rescuers said, an official said on Friday.
Gustavo Raad, official for the state-owned National Mining Agency responsible for the search, said rescuers found the lifeless bodies of the three miners on Thursday.
On Wednesday, another worker on the surface of the mine died of severe burns following an explosion caused by a build-up of gas in the quarry, according to preliminary investigations.
“This leaves us with 15 affected, with four deaths and 11 workers still missing,” Raad said in a press release.
More than 70 rescuers resumed search operations Friday amid uncertainty from families awaiting news.
Four days after the explosion, authorities began to clarify what happened at the state-sanctioned mine.
“There was a huge explosion inside the mine that caused a fire,” and a “series of gas” emissions occurred that hindered the rescue effort for “about 36 hours”, Minas do Norte secretary told AFP Jhon Olivares. . de Santander, border department with Venezuela where El Zulia is located.
Rescuers “found that the explosion was so large that about 90% of the mine collapsed, so the job was pretty complicated,” he added.
Colombia, where mining accidents are stable, recorded 148 deaths in such incidents last year. Oil and mining are the country’s main exports.
source: Noticias
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