Chilean authorities are racing to rescue five workers trapped in El Teniente, one of the world’s largest copper mines, after a Thursday collapse killed one person.
Codelco, the state-run firm that operates the mine, says an earthquake caused the mine shaft where the missing men were working to collapse.
The National Seismological Center of the University of Chile recorded a 4.3 magnitude earthquake in the area around the mine on Thursday. The quake and subsequent collapse also left nine people injured, Codelco said.
Codelco CEO Rubén Alvarado said Friday that “the first 48 hours are fundamental” to finding the men alive. He added that 20 meters (65 feet) of debris in the mine tunnel needed to be removed by rescue workers to reach where they believe the men are trapped. As of Friday, only four meters had been cleared.
El Teniente, in central Chile’s O’Higgins region, is the largest copper deposit in the world, according to data from the company. The incident has forced a halt in operations as rescue workers dig through debris to free the trapped men.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric said in a Friday statement on X that his government would do “everything in (its) power” to find the missing miners. “I have instructed the Minister of Mining, Aurora Williams, to be in the area to coordinate all necessary actions on the ground,” he wrote.
At a press conference on Saturday, Boric extended his condolences to the family of Paulo Marín Tapia, who died in the collapse, and said he is in contact with the loved ones of the five trapped workers.
As the hours pass, the anguish of the families and their fellow miners has increased.
“Hope dies last,” said Edgar Rodrigo Quesada, a miner and former union leader. He explained to CNN that while there is a shelter within the tunnel in case of a collapse, it isn’t close to where they believe the miners were. It’s uncertain if they made it in time.
“I just pray to God that my coworkers are okay,” Quesada said. “What I can tell you, honestly, is that the shelter is very far from where the collapse happened.”
The Chilean prosecutor’s office has already launched an investigation into the collapse. Codelco reported that it is also investigating the cause of the collapse.
The general manager of the El Teniente mine, Andrés Music, said that the accident was not caused by the use of explosives. “We are making every effort to rescue these workers,” Music stressed.
