Eight miners who had been trapped in a mine near Cali following a collapsing shaft, were rescued alive by rescue workers on Tuesday.
The workers were able to leave the mine ten hours after the accident.
“The emergency organizations removed material, shoring up the mine and by luck the miners managed to get out alive,” Cali mayor Jorge Ivan Ospina told reporters.
The mayor added that all the miners “are well and this rescue was achieved by the quick action of the emergency organizations and the cooperation provided by the mine personnel.”
Mining accidents are relatively common in Colombia; In January, 21 miners died in a gas explosion in a coal mine in the northeast of the country.
In 2010, there were 84 reported emergencies in mines, killing 173 miners, accross the country.
