Rockfall at Colombian Gold Mine Kills Two and Injures Four

At least two miners were killed and four others were injured on Wednesday following a rockfall at a gold mine near the Colombian town of Marmato, in the department of Caldas.

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The head of the Marmato Fire Department Hernando Gallego said heavy rains loosened rocks that fell onto one of the mine's crushers, killing and injuring miners.

"Unfortunately, two people are dead and four injured people are at a local hospital. Two people were missing and the Fire Department took care of it and found them," Gallego said, warning that rocks on the mountainside could still fall onto the road.

Caldas Governor Luis Carlos Velasquez said that subnational authorities and their teams were attending the emergency in Marmato.

"We continue to await the outcome of this incident, sending our solidarity in advance to the families of the victims," he added.

Paola Andrea Loaiza, Secretary for the Environment of the Government of Caldas, explained that the tragedy occurred as a result of a rockfall in a sector known as Cascabel. She stressed that there is still no official information on how many workers are buried in the mine.

"Marmato is a traditionally mining municipality. About 80 percent of its population is dedicated to an industry in which there are both regulated mines and illegal ones," outlet Colombia recalled, explaining that illegal mining is the source of work for many men and women in this part of the country.