Rescuers in Chile are racing to find the last worker trapped in the world’s largest underground copper mine after an earthquake on Thursday.
The state-owned Codelco company said on Sunday that five workers were now known to have died since the collapse of its El Teniente mine, about 70km (43 miles) south-east of the capital Santiago.
One of those killed died after the earthquake on Thursday but authorities had been searching for a group trapped by the collapse – four of whom have now been declared dead.
In its latest statement, Codelco said its priority was recovering the missing miner.
The collapse of some of the mine’s underground tunnels was caused by a 4.2 magnitude tremor on Thursday. Miners had been working deep below the surface.
Codelco has named two of the victims – Paulo Marín and Gonzalo Núñez Caroca – but said the others were yet to be identified “by the relevant authorities”.
“We share the anguish this situation causes their families and the entire community,” the copper mining company said.
Rescue teams have been using heavy machinery in an effort to clear the blocked passageways to try to reach the miners.
Codelco said rescue teams had cleared 24m (78.7ft) of blocked passages at the mine.
El Teniente is the world’s largest underground copper mine. It is located high in the Andes mountains in central Chile.
Authorities have said they are investigating whether the cause of the earthquake was mining activity or natural tectonic shifts.
