BOGOTA, Colombia – A powerful explosion in a coal mine in central Colombia that affected four other mines linked by tunnels has killed at least 11 people and left others missing.
President Gustavo Petro tweeted that rescuers are making every effort to reach the trapped miners.
The blast took place Tuesday night in the municipality of Sutatausa in Cundinamarca province. Cundinamarca Gov. Nicolás García Bustos initially reported four deaths with two people recovered alive and 17 still trapped in the mine.
Fire department Capt. Álvaro Farfán said the explosion affected five mines interconnected by tunnels.
Petro later raised the death toll to 11.