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Landslide kills 13 workers at Colombia open-pit gold mine
Officials said search operations ended around 2 a.m. Thursday after rescuers found all seven reported missing.
At least 13 workers were killed and seven others injured in a landslide at an open-pit gold mine in rural southwest Colombia, according to Mining.com. The collapse occurred Wednesday night after a slope failure at the operation in Policarpa, Nariño department, local authorities said.
Rescue teams including firefighters, residents, and emergency crews with excavators searched the site until about 2 a.m. Thursday, when officials reported that all those initially listed as missing had been found. Authorities had first received reports of an explosion but later concluded the incident was caused by a landslide.
Mining.com reports that officials have not yet said whether the gold operation held mining permits or was operating illegally. The distinction matters in Nariño, where authorities regularly target unauthorized mines linked to armed groups and environmental damage.
The accident highlights ongoing safety risks in Colombia’s mining sector, especially at unlicensed sites, Mining.com added. An estimated 200,000 to 400,000 people participate in artisanal mining nationwide, and illegal gold production is also tied to criminal networks that can route output through international supply chains.
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