Venezuela pit mine collapse reportedly leaves dozens of people buried in mud

The wall of an open pit mine in central Venezuela collapsed on Tuesday, reportedly leaving dozens of staff trapped below mud and sparking a frantic rescue effort. Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional cited Edgar Colina Reyes, the federal government safety secretary for Bolivar, the closest metropolis to the mine within the city of La Paragua, as confirming the accident, however his workplace had offered no additional element as of Tuesday night.

The newspaper, and regional outlet Correo del Caroni, stated Reyes was heading for the Bulla Loca mine Wednesday morning to evaluate the scenario.

The newspapers each quoted an area journalist as saying the mine wall that collapsed was roughly 115 toes tall. Photographs posted to social media from the scene confirmed a big, open pit of clay-colored mud, with staff and others racing to assist folks injured or trapped by the obvious landslide.

Iron ore, gold, bauxite and different minerals are extracted from mines throughout the Venezuelan state of Bolivar, together with many unsanctioned websites. 

The final main accident within the area, in keeping with Correo del Caroni, was solely a pair months in the past within the Gran Sabana district. At the least 12 folks had been reportedly killed in that incident, which got here solely a month after a earlier accident on the identical mine that didn’t end in any deaths, in keeping with the newspaper.

Native journalist Fritz Sanchez was sharing photographs and knowledge from the Bulla Loca mine on his social media accounts Tuesday.

“What we had been warned of this previous December has occurred at present,” he stated in one post. “They inform me of a collapse within the Bulla Native mine, which has left greater than 100 folks buried.”

He indicated the pit might have been an unlawful gold mining operation, however there was no info instantly accessible from Venezuelan authorities to substantiate the character of the positioning or the variety of folks trapped or injured.

Human rights teams have beforehand voiced serious concern over the variety of youngsters working in Venezuela’s open gold mines.