OMM Newsroom
The death toll from a gold mine collapse in southwestern Colombia has risen to 14, while seven people were injured, including four seriously, a local official said Monday. Anadolu Agency reported the figures.
The collapse took place at an open-pit gold mine beside the Iscuande River, in the municipality of Santa Barbara de Iscuande on Colombia’s Pacific coast.
Alex Gonzalez, Nariño’s secretary of peace and human rights, told Noticias Caracol that 13 bodies had been recovered in Santa Barbara de Iscuande. Another victim’s body was in the neighboring municipality of Guapi, in Cauca department.
Four of the injured were in serious condition. The Nariño Governor’s Office coordinated with the Colombian Army’s Third Division to arrange their air evacuation to Tumaco for medical treatment.
Gonzalez said a section of the open-pit mine collapsed, burying workers at the site.
UN calls for support for injured and affected families
On Tuesday, UN Human Rights Colombia urged authorities involved in the National Disaster Risk Management System to support the injured and affected families.
“We urge the State to implement all necessary prevention actions, through territorial transformation measures and investigation and sanctioning of these illegal activities in the territories, which are affecting the people who are forced to work in those spaces without any kind of guarantees, in addition to causing harm to the environment and the health of the communities,” the organization said on “X”.
The mine is located within the territory of the Iscuande River Basin Community Council.
Initial reports put the death toll at nine, but the figure increased to 14 as rescue efforts continued. Gonzalez said search operations had concluded, with no additional people reported missing.
