One dead and one injured left the explosion in a mine in Norte Santander

On the morning of this Friday, April 1, residents of the municipality of Bochalema (Norte de Santander) reported an explosion inside the La Carlota mine, located in the municipality of La Don Juana, according to local media.

Preliminary information released by the mayor of the municipality, Ramón Arenas to Oriente Noticias TRO, indicated that, at the moment, one person is reported dead and one person seriously injured. Although it was initially said that there was a group of miners trapped, Arenas ruled out that people had been trapped in the place.

According to the first versions delivered by the local president of Bochalema to the same media outlet, the emergency would have arisen due to an alleged accumulation of gases in the mine. However, this hypothesis has not been confirmed so far.

The official also told the broadcaster that, for now, the local government will make available the entire network of available emergencies in order to immediately attend to and transfer all those affected by the explosion.

The mayor of Bochalema added that, at the moment, the facts are a matter of investigation.

It should be remembered that this is not the first accident to occur at a mine in Norte de Santander in recent weeks. On March 25, two men died in a coal mine in the district of Las Mercedes, municipality of Sardinata, after being trapped inside the sinkhole.

According to testimonies collected by La FM Radio, the victims reportedly died after inhaling toxic products from the accumulation of gases reported inside the mine.

As RCN Radio learned, the first body of the two victims to be rescued was identified as 26-year-old Usmel Antonio Sepúlveda Rodríguez, who apparently owned the mine. According to the same medium, his body was transported to the morgue in the municipality of Sardinata, in order to be handed over to his relatives.

The body of the second victim was rescued up to several hours after the accident, as rescue agencies had complications with the procedure at the location of the mine. FM Radio reported that the deceased was identified as Henry Vardallo Canelo, a 17-year-old Venezuelan boy who, according to some accounts, had arrived in Colombia for some time in order to seek better opportunities for himself and his family.

After the fact, the National Mining Agency (ANM) reported that it was investigating whether the mine had all the permits and requirements to operate in the department. Data from the Mining-Energy Secretariat of Norte de Santander, collected by RCN Radio, even pointed out that, given the increase in the price of coal, many of the sinkholes in the region that had been closed because they did not have permits, are currently operating clandestinely.

In view of the outlook, the Mining-Energy Secretariat of Norte de Santander announced that it would initiate a series of visits to the different mines in the region, in order to ensure that they are operating legally and under all the requested requirements.

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