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All five workers trapped inside Chile's El Teniente copper mine following a tunnel collapse caused by a strong earthquake have been found dead, a regional prosecutor confirmed, according to Al Jazeera.
The last of the missing miners was located after rescue teams cleared over 24 metres (78 feet) of rubble in the underground passages of the mine, which is situated around 100 km south of Santiago. Prosecutor Aquiles Cubillos of the O'Higgins region announced the discovery of the final body on Sunday. "We deeply regret this outcome," Cubillos said, as quoted by Al Jazeera. The death toll from the incident now stands at six, including one worker who died at the time of the collapse, which occurred on Thursday evening. Over 100 rescue personnel were deployed in the search at the El Teniente site--widely known as the world's largest underground copper mine. Al Jazeera reported that the miners were operating at a depth of over 900 metres when the seismic event struck. The exact cause of the tremor, which registered a magnitude of 4.2, remains under investigation. Authorities said it was not yet known whether the origin was natural or triggered by mining activity. "This is one of the biggest events, if not the biggest, that the El Teniente deposit has experienced in decades," said Andres Music, the mine's general manager. Chile's state-run mining giant Codelco located the first body on Saturday and three more on Sunday, but has yet to publicly comment on the final recovery. Operations at the mine have been halted since Saturday, when Mining Minister Aurora Williams announced a temporary suspension. The El Teniente mine, operational since the early 1900s, comprises over 4,500 km (2,800 miles) of underground tunnels. It produced 356,000 tonnes of copper last year--about 7% of Chile's total copper output, according to Al Jazeera. Chile remains the world's top copper producer, accounting for nearly a quarter of global supply with 5.3 million tonnes produced in 2024. The country's mining sector is one of the safest globally, with a fatality rate of just 0.02% last year, Al Jazeera added, citing figures from Chile's National Geology and Mining Service. The rescue team deployed for the El Teniente operation included several specialists who had taken part in the 2010 mission to save 33 trapped miners in the Atacama Desert--an incident that captured worldwide attention. Chile lies along the geologically volatile "Ring of Fire," making it prone to frequent seismic activity. (ANI)
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