BOGOTA – An official stated on Sunday that the remains of four of the five miners who had been trapped for three days in a collapsed area of one of Chile’s largest copper mines have been recovered and identified.
Rescuers at the El Teniente mine, situated approximately 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Santiago, continue their search for the remaining miner, identified as Moises Pavez, according to mine director Andres Music.
The trapped miners were located thanks to GPS devices, but rescue workers had to drill through dozens of meters (feet) of rock to reach them.
A section of the mine collapsed following a 4.2 magnitude quake on Thursday, killing one worker and injuring nine others.
Authorities are examining whether a natural earthquake or mining activities at El Teniente triggered the tremor. Meanwhile, Chilean prosecutors have initiated a criminal inquiry to find out if any safety protocols were breached.
El Teniente, nestled in the Andes mountains of central Chile, stands as the largest underground copper mine globally and is owned by the Chilean state enterprise Codelco.
Following Thursday’s collapse, Codelco promptly suspended operations at the impacted area of the mine and evacuated 3,000 individuals from the broader site to safety.
The company canceled a presentation of its first-half financial results, set for Friday morning, due to the rescue efforts.
Chile, the world’s largest copper producer, also lies in the seismically active “Ring of Fire” that surrounds the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
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