The bodies of five miners trapped for three days after a collapse at the world's largest underground copper mine have been found and identified, officials have confirmed.
Chilean regional attorney general O'Higgins Aquiles Cubillos said rescuers found the remains of the last missing worker, Moises Pavez, at 3:30 p.m. local time. Drilling rigs had to penetrate dozens of meters of rock to reach the trapped miners.
“This outcome is deeply regrettable,” Cubillos said.
The incident occurred Thursday at Chile's El Teniente mine, where five workers were barricaded underground after a rock collapse caused by a magnitude 4.2 seismic event. Another worker was killed and nine others were injured.
Rescuers were able to locate the trapped workers using GPS navigation, but two-way communication with them was never established.
Investigators are looking into whether the tremor was a natural geological event or whether it was triggered by activity at the El Teniente mine.
As part of the criminal case, prosecutors are investigating possible violations of labor safety rules at the enterprise.
El Teniente, located in the Andes mountain range in central Chile, is recognized as the world leader in underground copper mining. The deposit is managed by the state-owned holding company Codelco.
Following the accident, the company immediately halted operations in the affected area of the mine and moved about 3,000 employees to protected areas.
Due to the emergency, Codelco postponed the presentation of its first-half financial statements, previously scheduled for Friday morning.
Chile, the world's leading copper supplier, is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically active region.
In 2010, the international community watched as 33 miners were rescued after being trapped in a northern Chilean copper mine for more than two months. The events became the basis for a Hollywood movie.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
