2023-05-07 22:01:08
At least 27 workers died in a fire at a gold mine in the region of Arequipa (south) in Peru, authorities announced on Sunday.
A short circuit is believed to be the cause of the fire that occurred in a gallery of the La Esperanza mine, located in the province of Condesuyos, in a remote area of the Arequipa region, said representatives of the police and the Parquet present on the premises. “The information we have shows 27 deaths inside the mine,” prosecutor Giovanni Matos told N.
Security operations before searches
The fire, which seems to have been followed by an explosion, would have occurred on Saturday at a depth of 100 meters but the police were only informed on Sunday that it had caused casualties. Rescue services began securing the mine on Sunday so they could enter. “We have to make sure that the place where the bodies are is safe, to be able to enter and recover them,” explained the prosecutor. Members of the families of the victims presented themselves at the nearest police station to the site in an attempt to obtain information on the operations in progress.
Minera Yanaquihua, which operates in this mine, is a medium-sized gold production company founded in 2000 in the district of Yanaquihua, in the region of Arequipa. The mining sector is a major pillar of the country’s economy, corresponding to 8.3% of GDP. Second world producer of copper, silver and zinc, Peru is the first producer of gold, zinc, lead, tin and molybdenum in Latin America, according to official statistics. In 2020, four miners were trapped in the collapse of an artisanal mine, also in the Arequipa region.
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