Overview
- Torrential rains caused flooding that collapsed vertical shafts at the Cuatro Esquinas de Caratal gold mine in Bolívar state.
- Bodies have been reported across three separate shafts, and two miners escaped unharmed from a shaft about 100 meters deep.
- Bolívar state authorities established a command post in El Callao to coordinate recovery operations through the National Risk System.
- Teams began by draining the shafts to lower water levels before assessing further rescue and recovery actions.
- Officials say the reported death toll relies on testimony from surviving miners and statements by local firefighters, highlighting longstanding safety concerns in the region’s poorly regulated mining sector.