Four out of five trapped miners at Codelco’s El Teniente copper mine have been found dead as rescueteams work to clear underground passages that collapsed in a strong tremor last week, the company said.
The latest fatality brings the total death toll from the accident to five, including one person who died at the time of the incident on Thursday evening.
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Codelco discovered the first trapped worker on Saturday and another two early Sunday. A fourth worker was discovered later on Sunday morning, said El Teniente general manager Andes Music.
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“We worked overnight with the utmost care, looking meter by meter,” he told a press conference. “I also don’t want to give false hope. Let us hope that our rescue workers continue to make progress.
As of early Sunday, rescue efforts had opened 24 meters of blocked passages in the mine’s new Andesita section, out of the 90 meters that Codelco authorities had earlier stated would be required to reach the trapped miners.
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The collapse occurred on Thursday, at about 5:30 p.m. local time, as a result of one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded at El Teniente, which had the impact of a 4.2 magnitude earthquake.
Codelco is looking into whether the reason was mining operations or natural tectonic movements in the earthquake-prone area.
