The Chilean authorities have confirmed the location of the lifeless bodies of two workers who remained trapped inside a mining operation after the collapse that occurred last weekend in the O'Higgins region, in the center of the country, an event that has provoked strong criticism from labor organizations.
The bodies of the two miners were found during the search and rescue efforts carried out in the El Teniente division, at the same point where the incident occurred. Both employees worked for the subcontractor company San Lorenzo.
The deceased were responsible for inspection tasks in areas of the open-pit mine, whose operations were halted due to bad weather, according to information from the newspaper "La Tercera".
The collapse occurred on Sunday afternoon and, according to security forces, the landslide took place around 2:00 PM (local time). At that moment, there were three workers in the affected area, of whom one was rescued alive.
The National Copper Corporation of Chile (CODELCO), responsible for the operation, detailed in a statement that, despite the deployment of resources, "the death of both workers was confirmed" and expressed its condolences to the families, colleagues, and teams of the companies involved.
The president of the contractors' union of the mine, Luis Núñez, denounced the scant information provided to the relatives who traveled to the site. "We want to know now why the workers were with almost five meters of snow removing snow, given that these are critical areas," he has warned.
The president of the country, José Antonio Kast, also spoke about the accident: "Another tragedy that mourns the country." "I regret the death of two contractor workers, as a result of an avalanche in the Rajo Sur sector of the El Teniente mine of Codelco. It has been a tough winter for Chile. A hug to the families of the workers and to their colleagues," he has asserted in a statement.