Latest news with #MaximoPacheco
DW
7 days ago
- DW
Chile mine collapse: Search ends after 5 miners found dead – DW – 08/04/2025
The rescue team dug several feet underground to retrieve the bodies of the miners who got trapped after a partial collapse of the El Teniente copper mine in Chile. The body of the fifth and last missing miner was found on Sunday, days after the collapse of a tunnel at the world's largest copper mine in Chile. "Today we finally found [dead] the last of the missing workers," Aquiles Cubillos, prosecutor for Chile's O'Higgins region, told reporters. Rescuers dug two dozen meters (78 feet) of underground passages to retrieve the body of the miners. On Thursday, a part of the El Teniente copper mine collapsed after a 4.2 magnitude tremor, which initially killed one person and injured nine others. Following the tremors and the partial collapse of the El Teniente tunnel, which trapped five mine workers, operations were suspended at the tunnel. It is still unknown whether the tremor was due to a natural quake or because of mining activity. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A team of 100 rescue workers tried to search for the missing miners. State-run mining firm Codelco, which operates the tunnels, discovered the first trapped worker on Saturday and the other four on Sunday. Codelco Chairman Maximo Pacheco said the miner would convene international experts to probe and determine "what we did wrong." "This tragedy hits us hard," Pacheco told reporters at Codelco's offices in the city of Rancagua, near the mine in central Chile. Chile's mining industry is one of the safest in the world, with a fatality rate of 0.02% last year, according to the National Geology and Mining Service of Chile.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Chile mine collapse: Search ends after 5 miners found dead
The body of the fifth and last missing miner was found on Sunday, days after the collapse of a tunnel at the world's largest copper mine in Chile. "Today we finally found [dead] the last of the missing workers," Aquiles Cubillos, prosecutor for Chile's O'Higgins region, told reporters. Rescuers dug two dozen meters (78 feet) of underground passages to retrieve the body of the miners. How did the miners get trapped? On Thursday, a part of the El Teniente copper mine collapsed after a 4.2 magnitude tremor, which initially killed one person and injured nine others. Following the tremors and the partial collapse of the El Teniente tunnel, which trapped five mine workers, operations were suspended at the tunnel. It is still unknown whether the tremor was due to a natural quake or because of mining activity. A team of 100 rescue workers tried to search for the missing miners. State-run mining firm Codelco, which operates the tunnels, discovered the first trapped worker on Saturday and the other four on Sunday. Codelco Chairman Maximo Pacheco said the miner would convene international experts to probe and determine "what we did wrong." "This tragedy hits us hard," Pacheco told reporters at Codelco's offices in the city of Rancagua, near the mine in central Chile. Chile's mining industry is one of the safest in the world, with a fatality rate of 0.02% last year, according to the National Geology and Mining Service of Chile. Edited by: Rana Taha
Straits Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Codelco ends El Teniente rescue effort after five miners found dead
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A drone view shows the entrance to Codelco's El Teniente copper mining complex, after several miners have been reported missing at the Andesita unit following a seismic incident, in Maitenes, Chile August 1, 2025. REUTERS/Pablo Sanhueza/File Photo SANTIAGO - All five workers at Chile's El Teniente copper mine who were trapped in a collapse last week have been found dead, miner Codelco said on Sunday, as it vowed to investigate the cause and improve safety measures. The total death toll stood at six, including one person who died at the time of the accident on Thursday evening, 70 hours before the final trapped worker was found. Codelco Chairman Maximo Pacheco said the state-run miner would convene international experts to investigate the cause and determine "what we did wrong." The collapse was triggered by one of the largest tremors ever recorded at El Teniente, with the impact of a 4.2 magnitude quake. It is still unclear if the cause was a natural quake in the highly seismic country or mining activity. "We're the first ones who want to know what happened," Pacheco told reporters at Codelco's offices in the city of Rancagua, near the mine in central Chile. "This tragedy hits us hard." President Gabriel Boric called for three days of mourning for the miners. The trapped men were aged 29 to 34 and were employed by excavation firm Gardilcic, according to local media. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore No plans to fully liberalise cross-border ride-hailing services between Singapore and Johor: LTA Singapore LTA, Singapore bus operators reviewing Malaysia's request to start services from JB at 4am Business Are Gen Z-ers in Singapore worried about generative AI coming for their jobs? Multimedia How Singapore is rethinking nature in the city Singapore The past and future of Choa Bungalow, a 'last reminder' of Marine Parade's former shoreline Singapore Ong Beng Seng to plead guilty on Aug 4, more than 2 years after trip to Qatar with Iswaran World Trump is winning his trade war, but Americans will pay the price World Hamas says it will allow aid for hostages if Israel halts airstrikes, opens humanitarian corridors Codelco is the world's biggest copper miner and Chile the largest global producer that supplies about a quarter of the world's red metal used in industries from construction to electronics. Throughout the weekend, dozens of people placed candles, Chilean flags and photos of the trapped workers at a makeshift memorial outside the entrance to El Teniente. The rescue effort began in earnest on Friday evening, once aftershocks from Thursday's tremor had subsided. In Codelco's final update on Sunday afternoon on the rescue effort, it said it had cleared 25.5 meters (84 feet) of passages near El Teniente's new Andesita section, removing 3,270 metric tons of material through heavy machinery operated remotely. Codelco discovered the first trapped worker on Saturday and the remaining four throughout the day on Sunday, working with a rescue team of about 100 people. Mining Minister Aurora Williams said the Labor Ministry and mining regulator Sernageomin would evaluate when it was safe for operations to resume at El Teniente, Codelco's flagship mine that last year produced 356,000 metric tons of copper. El Teniente, which is more than a century old and boasts the world's largest underground copper deposit, spans more than 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) of tunnels and underground galleries - nearly the distance between Chile and New York - in the Andes Mountains, about 75 kilometers (47 miles) southeast of Chile's capital Santiago. REUTERS
Reuters
7 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Codelco ends El Teniente rescue effort after five miners found dead
SANTIAGO, Aug 3 (Reuters) - All five workers at Chile's El Teniente copper mine who were trapped in a collapse last week have been found dead, miner Codelco said on Sunday, as it vowed to investigate the cause and improve safety measures. The total death toll stood at six, including one person who died at the time of the accident on Thursday evening, 70 hours before the final trapped worker was found. Codelco Chairman Maximo Pacheco said the state-run miner would convene international experts to investigate the cause and determine "what we did wrong." The collapse was triggered by one of the largest tremors ever recorded at El Teniente, with the impact of a 4.2 magnitude quake. It is still unclear if the cause was a natural quake in the highly seismic country or mining activity. "We're the first ones who want to know what happened," Pacheco told reporters at Codelco's offices in the city of Rancagua, near the mine in central Chile. "This tragedy hits us hard." President Gabriel Boric called for three days of mourning for the miners. The trapped men were aged 29 to 34 and were employed by excavation firm Gardilcic, according to local media. Codelco is the world's biggest copper miner and Chile the largest global producer that supplies about a quarter of the world's red metal used in industries from construction to electronics. Throughout the weekend, dozens of people placed candles, Chilean flags and photos of the trapped workers at a makeshift memorial outside the entrance to El Teniente. The rescue effort began in earnest on Friday evening, once aftershocks from Thursday's tremor had subsided. In Codelco's final update on Sunday afternoon on the rescue effort, it said it had cleared 25.5 meters (84 feet) of passages near El Teniente's new Andesita section, removing 3,270 metric tons of material through heavy machinery operated remotely. Codelco discovered the first trapped worker on Saturday and the remaining four throughout the day on Sunday, working with a rescue team of about 100 people. Mining Minister Aurora Williams said the Labor Ministry and mining regulator Sernageomin would evaluate when it was safe for operations to resume at El Teniente, Codelco's flagship mine that last year produced 356,000 metric tons of copper. El Teniente, which is more than a century old and boasts the world's largest underground copper deposit, spans more than 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) of tunnels and underground galleries - nearly the distance between Chile and New York - in the Andes Mountains, about 75 kilometers (47 miles) southeast of Chile's capital Santiago.
Daily Mail
03-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Collapsed Chile mine: Race against time to rescue miners trapped under collapse at the world's largest underground copper mine after two are found dead
Two people have been found dead following the partial collapse of the world's largest underground mine in Chile, during a search for five trapped workers. Chile's state-owned mining company Codelco said on Saturday that human remains had been recovered in the search at El Teniente mine in Rancagua. The mining company did not identify whose remains had been discovered. 'We know this news hits the families of our colleagues and our entire mining community hard,' Andres Music, the mine's general manager, said in a statement. 'This discovery fills us with sadness, but it also shows us that we are in the right place, that the strategy we followed led us to them,' he said, adding that search efforts would continue. Some 100 people have taken part in search efforts after the mine collapsed on Thursday following a 'seismic event'. It was not yet known whether the tremor was natural or caused by drilling. The tremor registered a magnitude of 4.2. 'It is one of the biggest events, if not the biggest, that the El Teniente deposit has experienced in decades,' Music said. The miners had been working at a depth of more than 900 metres in a bid to extend the mine to 1,200 metres at the time of the incident. The rescue team is still attempting to drill through 90 metres of rock to reach the miners. 'We will do everything that is humanly possible to rescue the five trapped workers,' Codelco's president, Maximo Pacheco, said during a news conference on Friday afternoon. 'All of our experience, all of our knowledge, all of our energy and all of our strength are dedicated to this cause and to seeing this through,' he added. Chile's president, Gabriel Boric, visited miners' relatives on Saturday and vowed to 'complete the search'. 'Codelco has all the resources, experience and technology to carry out' the search, he said. The body of another miner – not one of the five trapped – identified as Paulo Marin Tapia was found on Friday, shortly after the mine's partial collapse. The world's biggest copper supplier has now halted production at the site after the devastating collapse. El Teniente began operating in the early 1900s and boasts more than 4,500km of underground tunnels. In 2024, the site produced 356,000 metric tonnes of copper – nearly seven percent of the total for Chile. Codelco delayed reporting its quarterly results, including annual production guidance, on Friday, as it deals with the incident. Chile's mining industry is one of the safest on the planet, with a death rate of 0.02 per cent last year, according to the National Geology and Mining Service of Chile. It also lies in the seismically active 'Ring of Fire' that surrounds the shores of the Pacific Ocean. But in August 2010, a section of Chile's San Jose Mine collapsed, trapping 33 miners 2,300ft below the Atacama Desert. Seventeen days later, the rescue team discovered that the miners had survived the initial accident but were struggling to survive with very little food or potable water. The Chilean government requested technical advice from NASA and a team of experts traveled to the mine site and were on the scene from August 30 through September 5, 2010. The 33 miners were miraculously brought back to the surface sixty-nine days after the collapse, alive and surprisingly healthy after their ordeal.
