Freelance gold miners trapped by a collapse in a mine in northern Nicaragua are pulled free by rescue crews


The first 11 of 24 freelance gold miners trapped by a collapse in a mine in northern Nicaragua have been rescued and crews were working early Saturday to free more, officials said.

The men walked out of the mine on their own as their relatives and fellow miners cheered late Friday night, more than 24 hours after a collapse at the El Comal gold and silver mine in the town of Bonanza left them cut off in a mine shaft.

Rescued miner Marvin Urbina, 34, said he and some of his fellow miners saw an avalanche of mud and rock coming their way. They stuck to the walls of the mine but at least four of their co-workers were crushed by the mud and rock streaming down the shaft, he said.

"I asked God to let me live and he listened to me and now I will serve Him," an emotional Urbina told Channel 6.

Interior Vice Minister Carlos Najar said the miners were a bit dehydrated but in good health.

"They are coming out little by little, it's a slow process but we want to make sure they can get out safely," Najar told Channel 6 state television. He added that more of the miners are expected to be rescued overnight.

The miners were checked by paramedics and taken to a clinic in Bonanza, which is located about 260 miles northeast of Managua.

Earlier, authorities said 20 of the 24 miners had been located and had communicated with rescuers at the El Comal mine in northern Nicaragua.

Mr Najar did not say how many of the 24 miners they expected to rescue.

Hundreds of relatives and fellow miners had gathered to pray outside the mine as rescuers lined up several ladders along a 200-foot long tunnel leading toward where the men were trapped.

The mine cuts into the side of a mountain and then goes upward.

Commander Javier Amaya of the rescue team said the rescue plan involved groups "of five or 10 miners entering the mine on wooden ladders, tying themselves off and going in until they reach them."

Outside the mine, Jorge Hernandez, 25, said he learned his brother was one of the miners trapped while watching television in Nicaragua's capital, Managua. He rushed to Bonanza.

"We're praying to God with all of our souls so that my brother and the other men can be rescued alive and well," he said. He added that his brother Michael, 24, moved to Bonanza from Managua last year to work in the mine.

It was unclear if he was one of the 11 miners rescued.

The gold and silver mine is operated by Colombia's Hemco. The trapped miners are not employees of Hemco, but rather freelancers allowed to work in the company's concession if they sell any gold they find to the firm, mining company spokesman Gregorio Downs said.

Downs said the company had warned miners about the danger of working in the El Comal area, especially after two miners died in a rain-caused landslide there last month.

"We live by extracting mineral from Hemco. They told us digging here was risky, but sometimes one is willing to risk it for a few more cents," said Absalon Toledo, leader of the informal miners.

According to the website of Nicaragua-based Hemco, the company has mined in the North Atlantic municipality since 1995 and employs 532 workers, who process 700 tons of material a day.

The company, majority owned by Colombia's Mineros SA, says it produces more than 2,500 pounds (1,150 kilograms, 37,000 troy ounces) of gold a year and is Nicaragua's 12th largest exporter.

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