Rescuers in Chile have found the body of the last of five workers who had been trapped in the world’s largest underground copper mine after an earthquake on Thursday.
The announcement was made by regional prosecutor Aquiles Cubillos, who said the focus now was on a criminal investigation into the incident at El Teniente mine, run by the state-owned Codelco company.
The four other bodies had been discovered on Saturday and earlier on Sunday during a desperate search in collapsed mine tunnels, about 70km (43 miles) south-east of the capital Santiago.
The overall death toll is now confirmed at six, as another person was killed at the time of the incident on Thursday.
The collapse of some of the tunnels was caused by a 4.2 magnitude tremor on Thursday. Miners had been working deep below the surface.
Codelco has so far named two of the victims – Paulo Marín and Gonzalo Núñez Caroca – but said the others were yet to be identified “by the relevant authorities”.
“We share the anguish this situation causes their families and the entire community,” the copper mining company said.
Rescue teams had been using heavy machinery in an effort to clear the blocked passageways to try to reach the miners.
Codelco said rescue teams had cleared 24m (78.7ft) of blocked passages at the mine.
El Teniente is located high in the Andes mountains in central Chile.
Authorities have said they are investigating whether the cause of the earthquake was mining activity or natural tectonic shifts.
