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<\/div>\nAt least 27 workers have died in a fire at a gold mine in southern Peru. (Representational)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Yanaquihua, Peru: <\/b><\/p>\n
At least 27 workers have died in a fire at a gold mine in a remote area of southern Peru, authorities said on Sunday, making it one of the worst mining tragedies in the country’s recent history.<\/p>\n
Grief-stricken relatives gathered near the mine looking for news of their loved ones.<\/p>\n
“Where are you darling, where are you?” cried Marcelina Aguirre.<\/p>\n
Her husband Federico Idme Mamani, 51, was amongst the victims.<\/p>\n
“We know there was a short circuit and from that an explosion. We are very shocked by everything that happened,” added the victim’s brother, Francisco.<\/p>\n
Police and the public prosecutor’s office confirmed that the fire, which engulfed a tunnel inside the La Esperanza 1 mine in the Arequipa region, was caused by a short circuit.<\/p>\n
Public prosecutor Giovanni Matos told channel N television that there were “27 dead inside the mine.”<\/p>\n
Local media said earlier that the blaze started after an explosion at the mine in the remote Condesuyos province, a 10-hour drive from the city of Arequipa, the regional capital.<\/p>\n
The explosion ignited the wooden supports inside the mine in the town of Yanaquihua.<\/p>\n
The victims were 100 meters below ground, local media said.<\/p>\n
News of the fire was only published Sunday once police had gathered details of those who died.<\/p>\n
Rescue teams were trying to secure the mine before removing the victims’ bodies.<\/p>\n
“We have to make the place where the dead are safe so we can enter it and recover the bodies,” said Matos.<\/p>\n
There have been no reports of survivors, nor confirmation about how many people were in the mine at the time of the fire.<\/p>\n
Yanaquihua mayor James Casquino told the Andina news agency that most of the miners would have died of asphyxiation and burns.<\/p>\n
39 dead in 2022 in mining incidents<\/strong><\/p>\n The incident is one of the worst mining accidents in recent years in Peru, the largest gold producer in Latin America.<\/p>\n “The interior and defense ministries have been working since this tragedy occurred on the recovery and transport of the bodies,” said the presidency in a tweet.<\/p>\n Family members headed to the nearest police station for information on their relatives.<\/p>\n The mine, operated by Minera Yanaquihua, is a legal enterprise but there are many illegal mines in the region.<\/p>\n The company has been operating mines in Peru for 23 years.<\/p>\n Mining is one of the engines of the Peruvian economy, accounting for more than eight percent of GDP.<\/p>\n Last year, 39 people died in mining related incidents, according to the mining and energy ministry.<\/p>\n But in 2020, four miners died after becoming trapped when a mine in Arequipa collapsed.<\/p>\n Peru is the world’s second largest producer of silver, copper and zinc, according to official sources.<\/p>\n It is also Latin America’s top producer of zinc, tin, lead and molybdenum.<\/p>\n (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n