All bodies were found in the same place, where there was a collapse caused by a “seismic event”, whose origin, natural or related to perforations, is being investigated.
The five miners since Thursday arrested for a collapse in the world’s largest underground copper mine in southern Chile, they were all found dead, the prosecutor announced on Sunday after the discovery of the last body.
“Yesterday (Sunday), we finally found [morto] The last of the missing workers, “the regional prosecutor of O’Higgins, Achilles Cubillos told the press by announcing the end of rescue operations.
With its 4,500 km of tunnels, El Teniente is the largest underground copper deposit on the planet, owned by the Chilean public company Codelco.
All bodies were found in the same place, where there was a collapse caused by a “seismic event”, whose origin, natural or related to perforations, is being investigated.
“From today a fundamental stage begins, the investigation,” said Codelco Board of Directors, Maximus Pacheco, at a press conference, committing to “all necessary to clarify all the details of this tragedy.”
“We are primarily interested in knowing quickly and relibly what happened,” he added.
After the 1990 accident, in which six miners diedthis is one of the most tragic that occurred in the El Teniente mine in the last three decadesalso with a total balance of six dead: the five buried miners and another worker who was found lifeless on Thursday, and nine others injured with various levels of gravity, but all out of danger.
By order of the Chilean government, the mine has been stopped since Friday to facilitate rescue operations and has not yet been set a date for the resumption of production.
Last year, El Teniente produced 356,000 tons of copper ore, ie 6.7% of Chile’s first producer production, with 5.3 million tons per year.
Chile’s mining industry is considered one of the safest in the world. In 2024, the mortality rate was 0.02%, according to the National Service of Geology and Mines.
