Six workers who had been trapped after an explosion in the El Porvenir 1 mine, located in the La Ramada hamlet, in Cucunubá, Cundinamarca, were found dead on the afternoon of this Friday, August 14, after rescue organizations completed search and rescue operations at the site. A seventh worker managed to get out on his own after the emergency.
The situation was reported around noon, when rescue teams went to the mining complex to attend to the emergency and locate the people who remained inside. At 12:43 p.m., the governor of Cundinamarca, Jorge Emilio Rey, reported on his X account that an operation was underway in the area.
“Rescue teams are currently carrying out a mining rescue in the La Ramada hamlet of the municipality of Cucunubá; this after an explosion in the El Porvenir 1 mine that left six people who worked there trapped,” he added.
In that first communication, the governor indicated that from the Departmental Risk Management Unit they were coordinating with the municipality the actions to evacuate and attend to the workers. At that time, the health status of the six people who remained trapped was still unknown. However, he clarified that there was a seventh worker, who “managed to get out on his own.”
“From the Departmental Risk Management Unit we are coordinating with the municipality efforts for the evacuation and care of these people, whose health status is not yet known. We will be attentive to the evolution of this emergency,” he pointed out at the time.
The update on the rescue outcome was given by Governor Rey at 4:07 p.m. The governor confirmed that the six people were found dead and revealed their identities: Duvan Ferney Rodríguez, Cristian de Jesús Contreras Latorre, Sebastián Contreras Latorre, Eduard Alexander Díaz, Yerson Mauricio Rojas, and Jhon Mario Triviño Serna.
The governor also reported that the mine is part of a Special Reserve Area for its formalization and noted that it had recently received an inspection visit from the National Mining Agency. According to his statement, during that inspection safety aspects were found to be improved and the suspension of activities was ordered while an improvement plan was carried out.
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