Authorities confirmed on Sunday that at least 27 miners were killed in a fire at a gold mine in a remote part of southern Peru, making it one of the country’s worst mining tragedies in recent memory.
Grieving relatives gathered at the mine, hoping for word on their loved ones.
“Where are you darling, where are you?” cried Marcelina Aguirre.
Her husband Federico Idme Mamani, 51, was amongst the victims.
“We know there was a short circuit and an explosion as a result of that.” “Everything that happened has left us speechless,” said the victim’s brother, Francisco.
The fire, which overtook a tunnel inside the La Esperanza 1 mine in the Arequipa region, was sparked by a short circuit, according to police and the public prosecutor’s office.
According to public prosecutor Giovanni Matos, there were “27 dead inside the mine.”
According to local media, the fire erupted after an explosion at the mine in the rural Condesuyos province, a 10-hour drive from Arequipa, the regional capital.
The explosion ignited the timber supports inside the Yanaquihua mine.
According to local media, the victims were 100 meters underground.
The fire was finally reported on Sunday after police had acquired information about those who died.
Before removing the victims’ bodies, rescuers attempted to secure the mine.
