Mining disaster in Venezuela
Disused gold mine flooded – illegal gold diggers die of shortness of breath
Iconic image: The Icabaru gold and diamond mine in Venezuela
© IMAGO / imagebroker/siepmann
Officials say 12 people have died in an abandoned gold mine in Venezuela.
This was confirmed by the security chief of El Callao in the south-east of the South American country, General Edgar Colina Reyes. As he told the AFP news agency on Saturday, the incident happened on Wednesday. According to the information, the disused gold mine was flooded. The trapped prospectors died of shortness of breath and suffocated.
Accordingly, the group had previously entered the mine, which had been closed for years, when heavy rains flooded the site and cut off the oxygen supply to the suspected illegal miners.
Dead gold miners not yet identified
Five of the bodies were recovered on Friday and seven more on Saturday. So far, none of the dead have been identified.
In 2021, one person died when a shaft collapsed in the same gold mine, but 34 others were saved. In the south of the country, gold is often mined legally, but illegal mining activities are not uncommon either. Accidents are common there. Large parts of the region are also controlled by armed criminal gangs.