Six Miners Die
in Accident in Nicaragua
Managua - Six miners suffocated and five
others were rescued alive following a
gasoline spill inside a tunnel in Cerro
Potosi, a mining area in Nicaragua’s Caribe
Norte region, an emergency management office
spokesman said.
Eleven miners were using a pump to clear
water out of the tunnel Saturday when the
fuel spill occurred, emergency management
office spokesman Maj. Porfirio Castrillo
said.
“We have confirmed that six miners died from
suffocation in the accident, based on
reports sent by the chief of the unit in the
mountains, Capt. Miguel Zeledon,” Castrillo
said.
The five miners found alive in the tunnel
were taken to a hospital in the Caribbean
region and are listed in stable condition
following the accident in Cerro Potosi,
located some 450 kilometers (about 280
miles) northeast of Managua.
Officials have not determined how far down
the miners were working at the time of the
accident, Castrillo said, adding that it was
not known whether the men were independent
contractors or employees of a mining
company.
Many gold miners in the Caribbean region are
self-employed, the emergency management
office spokesman said.
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