Landslide at illegal Colombia gold mine leaves fourteen dead

Fourteen people were killed and seven others were injured in a landslide at an illegal gold mine in southwestern Colombia on Monday. Euronews and Al Jazeera both reported the incident, which occurred in the department of Narino. Al Jazeera reported that the accident happened in the rural Chambero sector of the Santa Barbara de Iscuande municipality. [1][2]

Search and rescue operations have finished, according to Narino Governor Luis Alfonso Escobar, as reported by Al Jazeera. However, disaster response official Jorge Tovar Castillo told Al Jazeera that an additional 12 to 15 miners have been reported missing following the accident. He added that local municipal authorities were handling the emergency response, though communication had been difficult. [2]

Euronews reported that videos shared on social media showed people and a backhoe evacuating bodies from the mine to a canoe on a nearby river. Narino Peace and Security Secretary Alex Gonzalez confirmed the revised casualty count to the Caracol television channel. [1]

Narino is located on the border with Ecuador and is known as a hotspot for illegal mining. Euronews reported that armed groups in the area control the illegal gold trade, engage in extortion, and traffic drugs. [1]