An explosion at a coal mine in central Colombia left a total of 21 workers dead. It is one of the worst tragedies in recent years in a country with frequent accidents of this type, authorities reported Thursday.
“Unfortunately 21 people lost their lives in this tragic accident in Sutatausa,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on Twitter.
The explosion occurred on Tuesday night in that municipality in the department of Cundinamarca, some 75 kilometers north of Bogotá.
Rescuers had found another 11 bodies on Wednesday and were working around the clock in an attempt to find survivors. At the time of the accident there were 30 workers in the mine.
The governor of Cundinamarca, Nicolás García, terminated the search work. “Unfortunately none are alive, our hearts are broken,” he tweeted.
At least 130,000 people work in legal mining in Colombia, according to figures from the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
Social organizations constantly denounce the poor working conditions of workers in mines of national and multinational companies.
President Petro is carrying out an “energy transition” plan to gradually abandon the exploitation of coal and oil.
“Each death at work is not only a business failure, but also a social and governmental one,” the president tweeted after reporting on those killed in the incident.
