1 of 9 trapped miners rescued in northwest Colombia

Rescue workers have been able to release one of nine miners who were trapped in a coalmine in northwestern Colombia after their illegal mine flooded, newspaper La Vanguardia reports.

Local newspaper El Colombiano did not confirm the rescue, but said that at least four of the miners are thought to be alive and that a rescue workers spokesmen said that “we hope to rescue them in the course of the morning.”

The rescue workers fear for the lives of the remaining five miners who are trapped in a shaft some 200 meters below ground.

The accident took place Wednesday afternoon when the mine in the municipality of Angelopolis flooded, trapping the nine victims.

Dozens of Colombian miners are killed in work-related accidents each year.

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