Last Tuesday night there was an explosion in five of the six interconnected coal mines that are located in Sutatausa, Cundinamarca.
(Coal mine explosion in Sutatausa leaves 11 miners dead.)
The incident occurred at the La Llanada, El electrico, El Hoyo, Los Chocos, La Golondrina and El Lucero mines. In these were 30 miners, of whom seven reported leaving the mines by their own means, and of the rest, 11 have been rescued lifeless and two others alive.
Nicolás García, governor of Cundinamarca, explained that at this moment the different rescue and control bodies are working against the clock to rescue the 10 miners who are still in the underground network.
In the place they make presence Red Cross, the Fire Department, the Colombian Geological Service, the Technical Investigation Corps, Civil Defense, the National Mining Agency, among other entities.
(Colombia, among the countries with the largest gender gap in employment).
“It has not been easy. There are 115 rescuers making a presence and all the effort. We have a report on the care of the nine miners who came out alive. Six of them have already been discharged, the other three will have it in the following hours”Garcia noted.
According to the investigations of the Fire Department, the mines had a high content of methane and coal dust that caused the initial explosion. As the mines were interconnected, a chain reaction was generated that led to the others exploding.
Although the mine, owned by the Minminer company, had a mining title with a license until 2032 and an environmental license, the National Mining Agency (ANM) reported that it was provisionally suspending its operation.
The company is dedicated to the exploitation and production of thermal, metallurgical and coke coals. In the case of this particular mine, it had permission to extract thermal and metallurgical coal and according to the Agency, the latter is the one that was extracted in the mine..
“We regret the mining accident in Sutatausa, Cundinamarca. All our solidarity and support to the mining families. At the site, and in charge of this emergency, is a team from the Ministry and the president of the ANM”, The Minister of Mines and Energy, Irene Vélez, said on her Twitter account.
The National Unit for Disaster Risk Management reported that five miners have already been sighted and are pending rescue. It should be remembered that due to the concentration of gases, the speed in the development of these tasks is vital to rescue the miners alive.
Javier Pava, director of the Unit, pointed out that they are working with the ANM mining Safety and Rescue group to recover the 10 miners who are in the mines.
The rescue forces, as well as the other units, reported that psychosocial support will be provided to the families that were affected by the incident in the mine.
During 2022, 139 people died in coal mines, for which Pava pointed out that the reform of the mining code is urgent.
