Eleven Killed, Four Injured in Coal Mine Explosion in Colombia - Reports

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - A methane explosion at a coal mine in the central Colombian department of Cundinamarca has damaged three nearby mines and caused the collapse of one of them, resulting in 11 deaths, local media reported.

According to the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, citing the head of the local risk management department, four miners were injured.

The bodies were retrieved by Technical Investigation Corps' agents, the media outlet added. Per a preliminary investigation, the incident was caused by an explosion of methane and coal dust.

Hacia el medio día de hoy se nos ha informado de la explosión por acumulación de gases en una mina de carbón de la vereda Pueblo Viejo en Cucunubá. Al interior de la misma se encontraban entre 10 y 12 mineros. Hemos desplazado hasta el lugar todos los organismos de socorro. pic.twitter.com/zEzTjGgUb8

— Nicolás García Bustos (@nicolasgarciab) April 4, 2020

Search and rescue operations are underway.