Explosion traps 12 in a Colombian coal mine

A photograph from the area outside the coal mine in central Colombia. (X/Jorge Emilio Rey)

BOGOTA, Colombia — At least twelve miners are trapped inside a coal mine in central Colombia, officials said Monday night, following an explosion that authorities attributed to the accumulation of gases.

Jorge Emilio Rey, the governor of Colombia’s Cundinamarca province said on social platform X, that there were 15 miners inside the mine when the explosion occurred Monday afternoon, but added that three miners were able to escape from the mine “on their own.” One of them was taken to a hospital.

The mine is located in Sutatausa, a municipality about 46 miles (74 km) outside capital Bogota and 8,200 feet (2,500 metres) above sea level.

Rescue workers and ambulances arrived at the site Monday to help the trapped miners.

Mining accidents are common in central Colombia, where dozens of small operators run coal and emerald mines.

In 2023, 11 miners were killed by an explosion at another coal mine in Sutatausa. In 2020, 11 miners died during a mining accident in Cucunuba, another municipality in Cundinamarca province.

Associated Press, The Associated Press