SANTIAGO (Reuters) -Four of five trapped workers at Codelco’s El Teniente copper mine have been found dead, the company said on Sunday, as rescue teams work to clear underground passages that collapsed in a strong tremor last week.
The latest fatality brings the total death toll from the accident to five, including one person who died at the time of the incident on Thursday evening.
Codelco discovered the first trapped worker on Saturday and another two early Sunday. A fourth worker was discovered later on Sunday morning, said El Teniente general manager Andes Music.
“We worked overnight with the utmost care, looking meter by meter,” he told a press conference. “I also don’t want to create false hopes. Let’s hope our rescue workers continue to make progress.”
As of early Sunday, rescue teams had cleared 24 meters of blocked passages, out of 90 meters that Codelco officials previously said could be necessary to reach the trapped workers, in the new Andesita section of the mine.
The collapse occurred on Thursday around 5:30 p.m. local time, caused by one of the largest tremors ever recorded at El Teniente with the impact of a 4.2 magnitude quake.
Codelco is investigating whether the cause was mining activity or natural tectonic shifts in the earthquake-prone country.
(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon and Mayela Armas, Editing by Nick Zieminski)
