Colombian rescuers working to save 14 trapped miners

Rescuers were continuing on Wednesday to try to free 14 miners trapped for two days in a coal mine in Colombia following an explosion that killed one worker, official sources said.

The miners are believed to be 200 meters underground with rescuers attempting to dig down 55 meters to access a ventilation circuit "and begin to generate better conditions inside" the mine, Jhon Olivares, mines secretary in the Norte de Santander department, told AFP.

Authorities are still investigating Monday's incident but "what we can initially deduce is that it was due to a concentration of methane inside the mine that caused an explosion, a fire and a collapse," said Olivares.

One miner who was outside the tunnel at the time of the explosion died of serious burns.

Friends and family members waited by a river close to the mine, where hundreds of rescuers were working day and night to free the miners.

Olivares said the mine "had the necessary permits to operate" although its operations had been suspended between March 2021 and May this year due to a previous accident.

"That's one of the questions we have to put to the national mines agency once the rescue operation is over," said Olivares.

Last year, Colombia recorded 148 deaths in mining accidents.

Mined raw materials are one of the country's main exports alongside oil.