Three people were killed by an explosion in a coal mine in the rural town of Jamundi in Colombia’s south-east Valle del Cauca department, according to official sources.
The blast occurred on Thursday night but relief agencies, supported by local residents, were only able to recover the bodies Friday morning, said Helmer Luligo, the head of the region’s fire fighting department.
The three victims, all men died from asphyxiation after inhaling carbon monoxide.
Guillermo Velez, head of the Jamundi’s local Emergency Committee told reporters that at the time of the tragedy two others were also trapped inside but managed to escape before the explosion.
Some 73 miners were killed in late June after an explosion in a coal mine in Amaga, Antioquia.