14 dead, 7 injured in Colombia illegal gold mine collapse

BOGOTA, Oct 19 — 14 people were killed ​and 7 others injured following the collapse of an illegal gold ‌mine in southwestern Colombia, local authorities said ⁠on Monday.

The accident ​took place in ⁠the rural Chambero sector of ‌the Santa Barbara ‌de Iscuande municipality, located in the ⁠province of ⁠Nariño.

Search and rescue operations have concluded, Nariño Governor Luis Alfonso Escobar said.

The governor called on the national government, the National Mining Agency, ‌and the Ministry of ​Mines and Energy to accelerate the formalization process for illegal and small-scale miners to improve working conditions and safety standards.

In August, 13 people died in a similar ​mining accident in the town ‌of Policarpa, also ‌in ⁠Nariño.

Informal and unregulated mining is common in rural parts of Colombia, where operations often lack adequate safety ‌infrastructure, leading to frequent ​fatal accidents.

(Reporting by ‌Luis Jaime ⁠Acosta, ​Writing by Natalia Siniawski, Editing by Iñigo ​Alexander)

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