Colombian coal mine explosion kills 11 and searches for survivors
A powerful explosion at a coal mine in central Colombia that hit four other mines connected by tunnels left at least 11 dead and 10 others missing
Bogotá – Colombia — A powerful explosion at a coal mine in central Colombia that hit four other mines connected by tunnels has left at least 11 people dead and 10 others missing, the government said on Wednesday.
President Gustavo Petro said on his Twitter account that rescuers were doing everything possible to reach the trapped miners.
The explosion, which has been attributed to an accumulation of methane gas, took place on Tuesday evening in the municipality of Sutatausa in the province of Cundinamarca.
Cundinamarca Governor Nicolás García Bustos initially reported four deaths, two people found alive and 17 trapped in the mine.
But Álvaro Farfán, captain of the Cundinamarca fire department, told local media that the blast hit five mines interconnected by tunnels, generating a “chain” explosion with a wider impact.
Petro later raised the death toll to 11. Energy and Mines Minister Irene Vélez said 10 people were still trapped in the mines.
The explosion happened when the highly explosive methane gas ignited, Vélez said.
Explosions and landslides are common in Colombian coal mines.
