2nd attack on mining railroad in 2011

The mining railroad of Colombia’s coal giant Cerrejon suffered its second bomb attack of 2011 just before midnight Wednesday.

“This new act of violence caused no casualties nor stopped operations,” according to a statement from Cerrejon.

The explosion occured at kilometer marker 57 of the 93 mile long railway which connects the country’s largest coal mine with Bolivar Port where the fossil fuel is exported.

The terrorist attack is the second in two months and the 15th against the Cerrejon railway since 1984. On January 19, an explosion blew up a section of the railway for which the perpetrators were never established.

Cerrejon believes them to be actions of unidentified “groups seeking to destabilize security in La Guajira.”

Colombia’s army has attributed previous attacks to the FARC’s 59th Front, which operates in the area, reported W Radio.

Cerrejon, Colombia’s largest coal exporter, produces 32 million tons of coal annually, 90% of which is exported. The company is jointly owned by Switzerland’s Xstrata and by British companies Anglo American PLC and BHP Billiton PLC.

 

 

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