The bodies of all five miners trapped for three days in a collapsed shaft at the world's largest underground copper mine have been found and identified, an official said.
Aquiles Cubillos, chief prosecutor of the O'Higgins region of Chile, said the body of Moises Pavez, the last missing miner, was found by rescuers at 3:30 p.m. local time. They had to drill through tens of meters of rock to reach the trapped workers.
“We deeply regret this outcome,” the prosecutor said.
Five miners were trapped deep inside Chile's El Teniente mine on Thursday after part of the shaft collapsed following a magnitude 4.2 earthquake, instantly killing another miner and injuring nine other workers.
Rescuers managed to locate the trapped miners using GPS devices, but were unable to establish contact with them.
Authorities are investigating to determine whether the quake was natural or caused by mining activities in El Teniente.
Chilean prosecutors have also opened a criminal investigation to determine whether any safety rules were violated.
El Teniente, located in the Andes Mountains of central Chile, is the largest underground copper mine in the world and is owned by Chilean state-owned company Codelco.
Immediately after the collapse on Thursday, Codelco suspended operations in the affected section of the mine and evacuated 3,000 people to safe areas.
The company cancelled its planned presentation of first-half financial results on Friday morning due to the rescue operations.
Chile, the world's largest copper producer, lies on the seismically active Ring of Fire that encircles the Pacific Ocean.
In 2010, the Chilean government rescued 33 miners who had been trapped in a copper mine in the north of the country for two months. The dramatic operation received worldwide attention and was later adapted into a Hollywood film.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
