Two miners died in Nicaragua this Saturday when a gold mine located in the North Caribbean Autonomous Region (RACN) collapsed, reported the General Directorate of Firefighters.
The victims were artisanal miners who were trapped when a tunnel of an abandoned mine collapsed in the rural community of Vesuvio, in the municipality of Bonanza (northeast), according to the report of the event, disclosed through official media.
The artisanal miners, known in Nicaragua as “güiriceros,” died from “(carbon) monoxide poisoning,” according to the information.
The authorities indicated that the bodies of the victims were found at a depth of about 73 meters.
Related news: Two artisanal miners die of suffocation inside a tunnel in Nicaragua
The “güiriceros” were identified as Ismael Jirón Hernández, 28, and Ezequiel Centeno González, 25. Both lived in rural communities in Bonanza.
The deaths of artisanal miners occur periodically in Nicaragua, where about 71,000 square kilometers are available for mining concessions, 10,000 have already been granted, and 1,500 are in process, according to official data.
The “güiriceros”, generally peasants, can earn up to eight times more in a day than they would if they worked in the fields.
Gold is among Nicaragua’s main export products
