The governor of the Colombian department of Cundinamarca, Nicolás García Bustos, confirmed this Thursday that the 10 miners trapped in a coal mine in the municipality of Sutatausa were found dead by rescuers, bringing the number of deaths to 21.
Miners were trapped Tuesday night after a methane gas buildup explosion. Seven managed to get out by their own means and two were rescued, while 11 lifeless bodies were found and the remaining 10 were being searched for, García told the voice of america on Wednesday.
“We confirm the location of the 10 bodies that we have pending (…) which adds up to a total of 21 deceased people,” the governor explained this Thursday in an official video from the scene of the tragedy.
García added that they continued to accompany the families and that the search was ending after more than a day of continuous work by lifeguards and firefighters.
In the area where the accident occurred, in the department of Cundinamarca -in the center of the country- there are a hundred coal mines and some do not have all the security measures, so accidents between miners are recurrent.
However, the governor of Cundinamarca told VOA that the damaged mine had all the permits to operate.
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