Colombia gold mine collapse kills 14 miners, injures seven

Hyderabad: At least 14 miners died after an unlicensed open-pit gold mine collapsed in a remote area of Colombia’s Nariño province, regional authorities said.

Seven others were injured in the accident, which occurred on Monday near the town of Santa Barbara de Iscuande, the Nariño government said in a statement. Search operations were called off on Monday night.

The provincial government said the incident underscored the dangers of informal mining, noting that two mine collapses in Nariño over the past three months had claimed 27 lives.

Located amid dense rainforest, Santa Barbara de Iscuande can be reached only by boat or small aircraft, making it difficult for emergency responders to access the area.

Nariño Governor Luis Alfonso Escobar expressed grief over the incident, saying entire families had died in the accident.

Hundreds of small-scale mines across Colombia operate without government permits, with some reportedly under the control of rebel groups.

The remote town also faces security challenges, with two rebel groups said to be operating in the area. One of them is the Jacobo Arenas Block, led by former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who rejected the 2016 peace agreement with the Colombian government.

Colombia’s Ombudsman’s Office called on armed groups operating in the region to allow humanitarian assistance to reach the town.

“All of our efforts must go towards protecting lives and tending to this emergency,” the office said in a statement posted on X. (with inputs from Associated Press)