Corp of One of the Five Miners Trapped in Chilean Mine Is Found
Carabineros (police) from Chile arrive at the access Los Maitenes, in the mine El Teniente this Saturday, in Rancagua (Chile). Photo: EFE/ Elvis González
August 2, 2025 Hour: 5:31 pm
Rescue teams found remains this Saturday of one of the five miners trapped since Thursday after a collapse in the Chilean mine El Teniente, the largest underground copper deposit in the world.
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“At the intersection of the central Loop with the north tunnel, we have found remains of a person,” who have not yet been identified, announced Andrés Music, general manager of the mine, located in the central O’Higgins region, about 120 kilometers south of the Chilean capital, at a press conference.
The collapse, which was caused by an earthquake of magnitude 4.2 on the Richter scale on Thursday at 5:34 p.m. in the Andesita sector, 500 meters deep, had already left one other worker dead and nine injured with varying degrees of severity, although all were out of danger.
The rescuers, some of whom participated in the famous 2010 rescue of the 33 miners trapped for more than two months in the San José mine, know exactly where the miners are trapped because they have geolocation devices, although so far they have not been able to contact any of them.
The rescue plan of the Chilean state-owned Codelco, the largest copper company in the world and owner of the mine, consists of removing the rocks that block the gallery with remote-controlled equipment and trying to reach the point where the miners are presumably located.
“From the first moment we have worked tirelessly, with all the resources, the best technology and experience available. This finding fills us with sadness, but it also indicates that we are in the right place, that the strategy followed led us to them,” added Music.
The unknown at this time is still the cause of the earthquake: whether it originated naturally or was caused by Codelco’s own drilling, so the O’Higgins Regional Prosecutor’s Office decided to open an investigation.
Hours earlier, from the El Teniente offices in Rancagua, the regional capital, President Gabriel Boric met with the families of the trapped miners and told a press conference that “all efforts are being made, with all the technology available, not in Chile, but in the world, to be able to rescue them.”
The accident at the El Teniente mine has generated the need to clarify causes and responsibilities, prioritizing the rescue of the five miners. This is the most serious mine accident in more than three decades, surpassing the tragedy of 1990 in which six miners died.