Gold Mine Collapse Kills at Least 6 in Southwest Colombia
Officials said 7 others were injured and rescue teams searched for additional victims after the collapse of an informal mine.
- On Monday, an open pit gold mine collapsed in Nariño Province, killing at least six miners in the remote municipality of Santa Barbara de Iscuande.
- Nariño governor Luis Alfonso Escobar described the site as an 'informal' mine, noting that hundreds of small mines in Colombia operate without government permits and some are controlled by rebel groups.
- Disaster response official Jorge Tovar Castillo reported 12 to 15 additional miners missing following the accident. Santa Barbara de Iscuande is surrounded by dense rainforest and accessible only by boat or small aircraft.
- Escobar stated that "our priority is to save lives, accompany families and guarantee an opportune response to this painful tragedy." Municipal authorities are handling the response despite difficult communications.
- The tragedy underscores risks posed by informal mining, which remains widespread across Colombia. Tovar Castillo said authorities are awaiting updated reports to determine if additional support is needed for ongoing rescue efforts.
64 Articles
64 Articles
The collapse of galleries occurred in the southwest of the country – Rescue searches have been completed, second tragedy in the region since August
As a result of a rock formation at an illegal open-pit mine in the municipality of Santa Barbara in southwestern Colombia, 14 people were killed and seven others were injured. The melted ground covered miners who were engaged in gold mining, TASS reported referring to Caracol TV channel. “At the moment, 14 people are known to have died. There are also seven injured people. By now, the search has already been completed,” said Alex Gonzalez, Secre…
At least fourteen people have died in a landslide at an illegal gold mine in a remote area of Colombia, local authorities report. Seven people were injured. Emergency services are still searching for missing persons trapped under the rubble. The accident occurred this morning around 8:00 local time in the department of Nariño, in southwestern Colombia. At that time, thirty people were working in the gold mine, a Colombian media outlet reports. …
14 people have died in a landslide at an illegal gold mine in Colombia, local authorities say.
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