Sutatausa Tragedy, 11 Miners Died and At Least 17 Trapped in Colombia

Bi-lingual

Sutatausa. Again, in South America, about accident in mining site.

Al menos 11 muertos y 17 personas atrapadas es el saldo de una explosión al interior de una mina de carbón en el municipio de Sutatausa, Colombia, informa el gobernador del departamento de Cundinamarca.

De acuerdo con las autoridades de Colombia, el incidente en las minas se debió a la "acumulación" de gases que explotaron por "una chispa generada por alguna pica" de un trabajador. Explosiones producidas por la acumulación de gas metano.

Las personas atrapadas fueron identificadas como Julián Corredor y Eduar Navarrete en la mina el lucero a 400 m

Casualties again. An accident in the municipality of Sutatausa occurred due to an accumulation of gasses that exploded after a worker's tool caused a spark, Governor Nicolas Garcia told.

11 people died and 17 more remained trapped following a coal mine explosion in central Colombia, the governor of Cundinamarca department said today.

The accident in the municipality of Sutatausa occurred due to an accumulation of gases that exploded after a worker's tool caused a spark, Governor Nicolas Garcia told Blu Radio.

The explosion happened late Tuesday night at a series of legal mines that are linked.

Firefighters and rescue workers could be seen at the entrances to the mines in images from local media, with a handful of relatives awaiting information about their loved ones.

The miners were trapped 900 meters (2,950 feet) underground, making access difficult for the more than 100 rescuers working on the search, Garcia said.

"Every minute that passes means less oxygen," he said.

Oil and coal are the main exports of Colombia, where mining accidents are frequent. 

In August, nine miners were rescued from a collapsed illegal coal mine in central Cundinamarca department.

In 2021, the fourth largest Latin American economy recorded 148 deaths in mining incidents. The 2010 Copiapó mining accident, also known then as the "Chilean mining accident", began on 5 August 2010, with a cave-in at the San José copper–gold mine, located in the Atacama Desert 45 kilometers (28 mi) north of the regional capital of Copiapó, in northern Chile. Thirty-three men were trapped 700 meters (2,300 ft) underground and 5 kilometers (3 mi) from the mine's entrance, and were rescued after 69 days.