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Family members mourn over the coffins of relatives who died in a gold mine collapse in El Callao, Venezuela on Saturday. Bolivar State authorities said the bodies of least 12 miners were recovered from a mine that collapsed on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Gold mine collapse kills at least 12 in southern Venezuela

  • The Talavera mine in Venezuela’s Bolivar state flooded on Wednesday after heavy rains but rescuers could not continue recovery efforts before Saturday
  • 112 people survived the mine collapse and authorities will return to the site on Sunday to check for further survivors, said Bolivar’s secretary for citizen security
Flooding collapsed a gold mine in southern Venezuela, killing at least 12 miners, local authorities said on Sunday, adding that the victims’ bodies were returned to their families.

The Talavera mine, located in El Callao, in Venezuela’s Bolivar state, flooded on Wednesday after heavy rains but rescuers could not continue recovery efforts before Saturday.

Another 112 people survived the mine collapse, said Edgar Colina, the secretary for Citizen Security in Bolivar, adding that authorities will return to the site on Sunday to check for other survivors or victims.

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Tunnels at the Talavera mine are opened in a rudimentary fashion by informal miners looking for gold.

The mine is in the so-called Orinoco Mining Arc.

Advocacy groups and other organisations have issued warnings about the region, with the United Nations last year reporting that human rights violations take place in Venezuela’s mining regions.
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