11 killed, 10 missing after Colombian coal mine blast-Xinhua

11 killed, 10 missing after Colombian coal mine blast

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2023-03-16 09:31:15

BOGOTA, March 15 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 people were killed and 10 others remained missing after an explosion ripped through a coal mine Tuesday night in the Colombian department of Cundinamarca, local authorities said Wednesday.

"We are making every effort with the Cundinamarca government to rescue the trapped people alive," Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Twitter.

"The nation, department, municipality and relief agencies continue working to rescue the ten miners who are still trapped. The Ubate hospital is treating nine miners, six of whom have already been discharged," Cundinamarca governor Nicolas Garcia Bustos said on social media, adding that rescue teams were working to locate the missing miners at the risk of a secondary explosion, which could be caused by gas accumulation.

When the incident occurred, 30 miners were inside the five interconnected 900-meter-deep mines for carbon; fortunately, seven escaped on their own, said Alvaro Farfan, commander of the Cundinamarca Fire Department.

Farfan said that rescuers were trying to establish communication with the trapped miners to determine their state of health and facilitate the rescue.

Family members of the missing miners gathered outside the coal mine, while the relatives of the deceased received psychological aid, Cundinamarca's government said.