Four men and a pregnant woman were killed by a landslide of mud and rocks at a gold mine in the southwest Colombian department of Cauca, Spanish news agency EFE reported Tuesday.
Although the tragedy occurred on Monday, it was only later on Tuesday that authorities were able to establish the scale of the landslide and the number of victims.
Witnesses said that the gold miners were panning for gold in the stream near the coastline of the Pacific Ocean, when they were enveloped by the debris from the landslide, while the secretary of the local town of Lopez de Micay said that the local government was currently investigating whether the gold mine was legally registered, although they believe it was illegal.
Relief agencies on Tuesday moved the bodies to the town of Lopez de Micay, where they will undergo examination in an attempt to establish their identities.
Local newspaper El Liberal de Popayan said that the region “is being invaded by illegal mining without any control by the respective authorities, and in addition to tragedies like this they bring violence by the illegal armed groups that want to take over the business.”