Nine miners were killed in an explosion inside a coal mine in central Colombia on Monday caused by a buildup of gases, according to a final toll released by the mining authority.

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It happened at a legally operated mine in the Sutatausa municipality, 72 kilometres north of the capital Bogota.

The National Mining Agency said in a statement that six miners were rescued and nine were reported dead “following an emergency at a mine in Sutatausa, Cundinamarca.”

Cundinamarca Governor Jorge Emilio Rey said on X that the explosion was “apparently due to a buildup of gases.”

The governor had previously said that 12 people were trapped and three had managed to escape.

Rescue workers were on their way to the site, he said, sharing images of ambulances at the mine’s entrance.

Authorities were assessing gas levels in the mine before conducting rescue operations, he added.

Mining accidents are common in central Colombia, where dozens of small operators run coal and emerald mines.

In 2023, 11 miners were killed in an explosion at another coal mine in Sutatausa. In 2020, 11 miners died during a mining accident in Cucunuba, another municipality in Cundinamarca province.