Caracas: At least 25 people were killed an illegal mine collapsed in the remote jungles of southern Venezuela.
“There is talk of 25 dead and 15 wounded,” Yorgi Arciniega, mayor of the Angostura municipality said on Wednesday and added that there was not yet “an exact number.”
The incident occurred on Tuesday at the Bulla Loca mine in the state of Bolivar, a seven-hour boat ride from the nearest town.
The Bolivar region is rich in gold, diamonds, iron, bauxite, quartz and coltan. Aside from state mines, there is also a booming industry of illegal extraction.
In December last year, at least 12 people were killed when a mine in the Indigenous community of Ikabaru, in the same region, collapsed.