8 dead, 70 trapped in Colombia mine explosion
By IANSThursday, June 17, 2010
BOGOTA - A coal mine explosion in northwestern Colombia killed at least eight miners and trapped more than 70, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said Thursday.
The explosion which occurred in the San Fernando mine in Amaga town in Antioquia province may have been caused by accumulation of gas, Uribe was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
Eight bodies have been retrieved and hopes for survivors are very little, he said.
Local media reports have, however, put the death toll at 16.
The most serious accident in Amaga occurred in 1977, when at least 86 miners working in a coal mine were killed in an explosion.
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