A landslide triggered by local residents digging for rumored deposits of gold in an abandoned mine killed at least 21 people and injured 26 in southern Colombia, authorities said.
Seven of those injured were in serious condition late on Saturday, Cauca provincial Governor Juan Jose Chaux said in a statement.
Chaux said the search for survivors at the mine, located near the town of Suarez, 350km southwest of Bogota, was suspended on Saturday evening because of darkness and bad weather, which made the open pit mine unsafe.
It was unclear how many people were missing, but earlier police officer Jose Delgado said that about 50 people may have been in the mine the time of the landslide.
Images broadcast by RCN news showed the mine as a pit about 8m deep and 50m in diameter. Rescuers waded waist-deep through the mire and heavy machinery also worked to remove the mud.
Local residents had begun digging in the mine after it was reported that gold had been found underground, Delgado said by telephone from the scene. He said that many of them appeared to have little experience in tunneling or mining.
The governor said in the statement that the Suarez mayor had ordered the mine closed, but "the people went in despite being warned" it was dangerous.
The site was owned by mining company Agromineros, it said.
Rich in resources, but with limited government presence across much of the country, Colombia is home to many such makeshift mines, particularly in zones where gold or emeralds have been found.
With little to no oversight, mining accidents are a frequent. In February, a mine explosion killed 32 people.
The same month, another accident killed eight more miners.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was