Greater than 100 folks had been concerned within the seek for staff on the El Teniente copper mine, the world’s largest underground mine.
All 5 staff trapped at a copper mine in Chile have been discovered useless, based on a regional prosecutor, after rescue groups cleared greater than 24 metres (78 toes) of underground passages that collapsed in a robust earthquake final week.
Prosecutor Aquiles Cubillo of the O’Higgins area stated on Sunday that the physique of the fifth trapped employee had been discovered on the El Teniente copper mine.
Greater than 100 folks had been concerned within the seek for staff on the El Teniente copper mine, the world’s largest underground mine, in Rancagua, about 100km (62 miles) south of Santiago.
“We deeply remorse this consequence,” Cubillos stated.
The most recent demise brings the entire toll from the accident to 6, together with one one who died on the time of the incident on Thursday night.
Chile’s state-owned mining firm Codelco found the primary trapped employee on Saturday and one other three on Sunday. It has not but commented on the ultimate employee.
The miners had been working at a depth of greater than 900 metres when the collapse occurred, killing one colleague and halting operations on the website. Their precise location had been pinpointed with specialised tools.
Minister for Mining Aurora Williams introduced the momentary cessation of exercise on the mine on Saturday.
The mine started working within the early 1900s and boasts greater than 4,500km (some 2,800 miles) of underground tunnels.
Final yr, El Teniente produced 356,000 tonnes of copper – almost 7 % of the entire for Chile.
The cave-in occurred after a “seismic occasion” on Thursday afternoon, of which the origin – pure or brought on by drilling – was not but identified, the authorities stated on Saturday. The tremor registered a magnitude of 4.2.
“It is among the largest occasions, if not the most important, that the El Teniente deposit has skilled in many years,” Andres Music, the mine’s normal supervisor, stated in a press release.
The search crew included a number of of the rescuers who participated in efficiently surfacing 33 miners trapped in a mine for greater than two months within the Atacama Desert in 2010, attracting a whirlwind of world media consideration.
Chile is the world’s largest copper producer, chargeable for almost 1 / 4 of world provide, with about 5.3 million tonnes in 2024.
Its mining trade is among the most secure on the planet, with a demise price of 0.02 % final yr, based on the Nationwide Geology and Mining Service of Chile.
It additionally lies within the seismically lively “Ring of Hearth” that surrounds the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
