An explosion caused by a buildup of methane at a coal mine in central Colombia on Tuesday killed 21 people, according to final figures released by authorities on Thursday, who also announced that the Colombian’s license to operate the facility had been suspended. , a group of minminers.

“Unfortunately, 21 people died in a tragic accident in Sutataus,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in the province of Cundinamarca, tweeted on Thursday.

This is one of the worst tragedies of its kind in recent years in a Latin American country where tragic mine accidents are not uncommon.

Colombia recorded 1,260 such accidents and incidents between 2011 and May 2022, with an average annual death toll of 103 (148 deaths in 2021), according to official figures.

Prefect Nicolás Garcia announced on Tuesday that 11 workers were found dead inside the mine after the explosion and that a search and rescue operation is underway to find and rescue another 10 trapped people.

A total of 30 people were working in the coal mine at the time of the explosion. The facility is located approximately 75 km north of the capital Bogota.

In a race against time, as the oxygen in the mine cavities dwindled, they prevented several mine collapses.

The miners were trapped at a depth of 900 meters in the adits of six interconnected mines, many of which collapsed in a chain reaction caused by the explosion.

“Unfortunately no one survived, we are heartbroken,” Prefect Garcia tweeted on Thursday announcing the end of the search and rescue operation.

The accident happened when a “concentration” of methane came into contact with a “spark that caused the hoe to explode,” he explained on Wednesday.

A mining license issued to the Colombian group Minminer, which operates the mine, has been suspended pending an investigation, Sutataousa Mayor Jaime Arevalo told Blu radio station.

Authorities want to find out if the coal mine had the necessary facilities for proper ventilation. To prevent methane from “turning into an explosive substance”, it needs “a special ventilation unit and a monitoring system capable of sounding an alarm” in case of a problem, explained Javier Pava, director of the national risk response unit. and Natural Disasters (UNGRD).

“There should be a risk management plan” and workers should be given emergency training, he added, speaking to public broadcaster Canal Institucional.

Mostly young people

Relatives of the miners posted photos of the dead, mostly young men, on social networks.

Sutaousa and the nearby municipalities have a long tradition of coal mining.

Mine workers who were rescued described how chaos ensued after the explosion.

“I was working when I heard the explosion” and then “I thought I was going to suffocate, but I didn’t see anything,” miner Joselito Rodriguez, 33, told AFP by phone. “Thank God we got out safely, but others were not so lucky,” he added after being discharged from the hospital where he was hospitalized with respiratory failure.

Mining accidents, mainly due to methane concentrations, are frequent in Colombia, especially with illegal mining, which is plentiful.

President Petros announced an “energy transition” plan to phase out the exploitation of coal and oil.

“Every death in the workplace is not only a failure of business, it is a failure of society and government,” he stressed yesterday.

Oil, coal and legally mined minerals are Colombia’s main exports.

At least 130,000 people work legally in mines and mining in Latin America’s fourth largest economy. But unions often complain about poor working conditions, lack of protective equipment and irregular working hours.

The worst accident of its kind in Colombia’s recent history took place in June 2010, when 73 people were killed in a mine explosion in the northwestern part of the country.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters.