Gustavo Petro said that despite the rescue efforts, the 10 miners trapped underground after the explosion lost their lives.
The death toll from an explosion in a series of linked coal tunnels in central Colombia has reached 21, the country’s President Gustavo Petro said today, as large-scale efforts to rescue 10 miners trapped underground sadly failed.
“Despite the efforts of rescue groups, unfortunately 21 people have lost their lives in the tragic accident of Sutatausa,” a town 74km north of the capital Bogota, Petro said in a statement this morning.
“All my solidarity is with the families of the victims,” added the president.
A day earlier, local governor Nicolas Garcia told the media that at least 11 miners had died in the explosion late Tuesday, due to the accumulation of gases and explosions from working sparks.
He added that the fire had spread to the connected mine tunnels, which had legal permits.
Nine miners had managed to escape, but 10 were trapped in galleries 700 to 900 meters underground, Garcia told reporters yesterday.
More than 100 rescue workers tried to free them.
“I thank the rescue workers who worked with body and soul during these two days in the Sutatausa mine. Our hearts are broken,” Garcia wrote.
There are many open pit and underground gold and coal mines in Colombia. Such explosions have happened before, mainly in illegal plants that neglect the necessary safety measures.
In a serious incident in 2010, 73 people were killed in an explosion in the northwest of the country.
Today the president of Colombia said: “Every loss of life at work is not only a business failure but also a social and governmental failure.”
There are many open pit or underground gold and coal mines in Colombia.
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