Peru: 27 Bodies Rescued From Mine Fire In Yanaquihua

The Peruvian Public Prosecutor's Office in Arequipa reported Monday that it has concluded with the rescue of the 27 corpses of mine workers who died this Saturday during a fire in a sinkhole.

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"The Public Prosecutor's Office reports that it concluded with the removal of the 27 corpses of workers from the Yanaquihua mining sinkhole, in the province of Condesuyos, department of Arequipa [south]," the local Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.

The rescue work of the bodies by the Peruvian National Police (PNP) teams concluded at 22:50 (local time).

"The bodies will be transferred to the morgue in [the city of] Arequipa, under the guard of police agents, where the necropsy will be performed and a team of criminal prosecutors will be present," the Prosecutor's Office added.

At least 27 people died after a gold mine caught fire in southern Peru, in what is considered the worst accident of its kind in the country in decades. Yanaquihua, the company in charge of the mine, said that 175 miners were rescued.

Last Saturday, the gold mine called Esperanza I, belonging to the Yanaquihua mining company, suffered a fire about 100 meters from the pit after a short circuit in its facilities, according to preliminary investigations.

"In the explosion there has been gas exposure and short circuit, all is preliminary information. The Prosecutor's Office, with homicides, will determine what has happened," Carlos Zanabria, adviser to the Government of Arequipa said. 

Giovanni Mattos, the Condesuyos Prosecutor, informed that a criminal inspection was carried out in the area and declarations will be taken from the representatives of the contractor (Sermigold EIRL) as part of the investigation.

Mattos added that the recovery of the bodies was difficult because the rescue teams had to wait for the toxic gases to dissipate in the area.