Three miners die at illegal operation in Colombia

The Administrative Office of Risk Management of Colombia’s Antioquia department reported that three people died and two were injured after a blasting operation went wrong at an illegal gold mine.

The accident occurred on Saturday at the El Avance de Diómedes mine located half an hour away from the city of Buriticá in northwestern Colombia.

According to the Office of Risk Management, the miners – whose ages ranged from 18 to 37 years old – inhaled toxic gases and perished. The survivors were taken to the hospital and have already been released. No one else was trapped under the rubble. 

Local authorities also reported that a few days back, 38 people were caught illegally extracting gold at the same mine but were not prosecuted, so they returned over the weekend.