Colombia Coal Mine Explosion Kills 32
An explosion tore through a makeshift coal mine in remote northeast
Colombia on February 3, killing 32 miners, the Associated Press reported. Rescue
crews located the bodies buried more than 1,300 ft underground but were unable
to safely remove them. Officials had previously reported that three miners were
dead and 28 were missing at the mine in the remote hamlet of San Roque, 255 miles
northeast of Bogota. The morning explosion was caused by “some sparkand
the gas that was inside” the mine, said Fernando Rosales, director of civil
defense in Norte de Santander state. Earlier in the day, authorities pleaded on
Caracol Radio for a gas extractor to help remove large quantities of trapped methane.
Norte de Santander, where the mine is located, is one of Colombia’s most
violent-stricken states, an area overrun by leftist guerrillas and rightwing paramilitary
groups who often battle each other for control of lucrative drug smuggling routes
across the border with Venezuela. Many mines in this Andean nation are makeshift
affairs with few or no safety procedures.