Heavy rain collapses a gold mine in Venezuela, killing 14 | Mining News

Emergency officials said efforts were underway to recover bodies from mines in the south of the country.

At least 14 people have died after heavy rains led to the collapse of a gold mine in Venezuela.

The National Risk System announced Monday that it had launched recovery efforts at the mine located in the southern municipality of El Callao, where bodies were found in three separate wells.

Venezuela has deposits of copper, diamonds and other precious metals, but unsafe working conditions are common in a poorly regulated industry.

The Bolivar state’s Operational Areas Agency for Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis said that a command center had been established in the town of El Callao, about 850 kilometers southeast of the capital, Caracas, to coordinate operations.

The agency said in a statement that the deaths occurred in three different shafts at the Cuatro Esquinas de Caratal mine, as floods caused the mine’s vertical shafts to collapse.

She added that two miners were able to escape unharmed from one of the shafts, which is about 100 meters (328 feet) deep.

“The first phase of the work is to pump all wells in the sector to lower the water level, and then evaluate rescue efforts,” emergency officials said in a post on social media.

The death toll is based on the testimony of surviving miners, the Associated Press news agency reported, citing comments by local firefighters on social media.

Safety is not guaranteed

El Callao has been a gold mining center since 1853, when the precious metal was first discovered there. Most of the city’s residents are directly or indirectly involved in trade.

Venezuela’s mining sector is poorly regulated, with reports of unsafe working conditions and widespread exploitation.

In July 2020, then-UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet accused Venezuelan authorities of failing to investigate crimes linked to the mining industry.

In a statement issued at the time, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the industry in Venezuela operated by exploiting unskilled workers, sometimes barefoot, who were forced to “work 12-hour shifts, going down deep holes without any protection.”