At least three workers at a coal mine in central Colombia have died in a tunnel explosion, and four of their colleagues are still “missing,” emergency services said Thursday.

Three bodies have been found, the local Red Cross said, adding that four more miners are still “missing.”

A previous report provided by the fire department said four people were rescued and seven were stuck in the mine adit.

The accident occurred around 01:00 local time (09:00 Greek time) in the municipality of Kukunuba, about 90 km north of the capital Bogotá.

Videos posted on social media show plumes of smoke coming from the mine, and civilians approaching with flashlights.

#TRAdioNoticias The mine emergency was triggered by an explosion after midnight in a coal mine in the village of Pueblo Viejo Kukunub. Organismos de socorro atienden la Emergency, se trataría de la Empresa minera El Condor. @nicolasgarsiab @ANMColombia pic.twitter.com/FcFz1Mw89N

— T Radio 102.4 FM (@TRAdioTeMueve) April 20, 2023

According to local government spokesman Nicolas Garcia, the explosion took place in an underground gallery connecting the mines of El Roble and El Manto. It’s unclear at this stage if they were operating legally or illegally, but Friday’s reports from Colombia say the mines have been closed since December last year for security reasons.

He clarified that the accident occurred in “an area where a permit for mining of traditional type was given”, but the authorities are still trying to check whether “operating conditions” are met.

An ongoing investigation is expected to clarify the cause of the explosion, however, according to Kukunuba Mayor José Martinez, the initial hypothesis is that due to accumulation of gas.

Mining and mining tragedies are common in Colombia, especially in illegally operated mines in Cundinamarca and other central and northeastern provinces.

Authorities counted 1,262 such incidents between 2011 and May 2022. In total, about 100 people die every year in the country as a result of tragedies of this kind.

Methane concentrations are the most common cause of these accidents in Colombia, Latin America’s largest coal producer.

In mid-March, an explosion at a nearby mine in the municipality of Sutatussa killed 21 workers, one of the worst tragedies of its kind in recent years. The area has a long tradition of mining.

Source: APE-MPE, El Tiempo.