POTOSI (Bolivia), Aug 3 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Five men died after being buried alive by a landslide at the state-owned Amayapampa gold mine in Potosí, Bolivia. The victims, who were not regular employees, had official permits to extract residual ore.
The incident occurred between midnight and dawn on Friday, and the cause of death was determined to be mechanical asphyxiation.
Only two of the five victims, Wilfredo Covarrubias Andrade and Marco Gonzáles Marcani, have been officially identified so far, and their bodies handed over to their relatives, while the three others were taken to the Llallagua morgue for a legal autopsy. One of the deceased was from Amayapampa, another from Cochabamba, and the others from nearby communities, according to police.
This case brings the total number of mining-related deaths in the department of Potosí to 73 this year. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the collapse and whether any negligence was involved.
According to Colonel José Luis Álvarez, regional police commander in northern Potosí, the deceased were not regular employees of the Bolivian Mining Corporation (Comibol), but had official permits to carry out the traditional “paqoma,” collecting residual ore.
The Amayapampa mine is considered the largest gold producer in Potosí and is operated as an open-pit mine by the state-owned company Comibol. — NNN-MERCOPRESS