Rescue workers in northern Peru were searching for trapped miners at a small gold mine on Monday , after the mine was allegedly attacked by suspected illegal miners, a local mayor said.
Segundo Armas, mayor of the Pataz district in the region of La Libertad, said that as many as 17 miners could be trapped at the small remote mine which collapsed after it was attacked on Sunday by “possibly rival miners.”
The mayor was unable to confirm how many workers had been able to escape.
“The area is difficult to access and we are trying to confirm the number of those trapped,” Armas said, adding that cellular service does not reach the mine.
La Libertad is one of the regions with the highest gold production in Peru, and according to official reports at least 40% of the supply comes from artisanal or informal miners.
(By Marco Aquino and Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez)
