1 dead, 5 captured after the mine collapses after the earthquake

One person is dead and five people remain caught after a mine collapsed in Chile.

The mine collapsed after the US geological survey registered an earthquake near where the El Teniente mine is located, shortly after 17:30 local time on Thursday 31 July, according to New York Times and Associated Press.

National Copper Corporation of Chile, also known as Codelco, said in a series of Spanish -speaking statements that a person, Paulo Marín Tapia, died after an earthquake of 4.2 size affected the workplace.

Nine people who worked with the Andesita project at the El Teniente mine suffered non-life-threatening injuries, while another five workers were captured in the mine, Codelco said.

The five miners are still caught as of Friday 1 August, according to the latest edition shared by Codelco.

At a press conference, El Tenientes Director General Andres Music, the tunnels inside the mine “, said, after they” collapsed “after the earthquake, according to Reutants. “There is no possibility of one’s radio communication,” he added.

In addition, Music said, aftercare from the earthquake has made it impossible for more rescuers to reach the captured workers. He added that the earthquake was “one of the biggest events – if not the largest – as the El Teniente mine has experienced in decades.”

“We do everything to try to save these five miners,” said music per AP. “The next 48 hours are crucial.”

Music said about 100 rescue workers were at El Teniente when the earthquake struck, according to Times. Among them were 33 miners captured for 69 days in a mine located in the Atacama Desert 2010.

Union leader Amador Pantoja said that copper extraction operations have stopped at El Teniente in the wake of the collapse, but noted that Codelco is still running its concentrator and smelters, according to Reuters.

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El Teniente mine is considered to be the world’s largest underground copper operation, according to Mining.com. It has worked since 1905 and extends over 4,500 kilometers (about 2,800 miles) tunnels and underground galleries in the Andesbergen.