The Chilean mining company said it was found that one of five workers trapped in the copper mine on Saturday was dead, bringing the death toll to two from Thursday’s collapse.
According to Codelco, the state-owned company that runs the mine, rescuers are competing to save a man trapped in El Teniente, one of the world’s largest copper mines, after the mine shaft collapses.
The mine’s general manager Andrés Music said at a press conference on Saturday that prosecutors and civil servants will identify the workers’ bodies.
“We know that this news will be a hard hit on our fellow families and the entire mining community,” Music said in a statement issued after the discovery. “We intend to continue to maintain all our strength and hope, but now we can mean that we are paying attention and progressing slowly.”
The National Earthquake Centre at the University of Chile recorded a 4.3 magnitude earthquake on Thursday in the area surrounding the mine. The trembling and subsequent collapse caused nine people to be injured, Codelco said.
“The first 48 hours are basic for finding a living man,” Codelco CEO Rubén Alvarado said Friday. He added that 20 meters (65 feet) of the mine tunnel must be removed by rescuers to reach the location the man believes is trapped. As of Friday, only 4 metres had been cleared.
According to the company’s data, Elteniente, located in the Ohiggins region of central Chile, is the world’s largest copper deposit. The incident forced the surgery to stop as rescue workers dig the wreckage and free the trapped man.
Chilean President Gabriel Borik said in a statement on Friday in X’s statement that his government will do “all of all (that) power” to find the missing miners. “I have instructed Mining Minister Aurora Williams to be in the area to coordinate all necessary actions on the ground,” he wrote.
At a press conference on Saturday, Borik said he was so pleased with the family of Paulo Marine Tapia, who died in the collapse, and that he was in contact with the loved ones of five locked workers.
Over time, the anguish of the family and their fellow miners increased.
“Hope died last,” said Edgar Rodrigo Quesada, a miner and former union leader. He explained to CNN that in the case of collapse there is a shelter within the tunnel, but that is not close to where they believe there are miners. It is unknown if they made it in time.
“I pray to God that my colleagues are fine,” Quesada said. “To be honest, all I can tell you is that the shelter is very far from where the collapse occurred.”
The Chilean prosecutor’s office has already begun an investigation into the collapse. Codelco also reported that it was investigating the cause of the collapse.
Music, the mine’s general manager, said the accident was not due to the use of explosives. “We’re making every effort to save these workers,” the music emphasized.
