Rescuers close in on three trapped Honduran miners, eight still missing
Rescuers close in on three trapped Honduran miners, eight still missing
Source: Reuters - Thu, 3 Jul 2014 15:24 GMT
By Jorge Cabrera
SAN JUAN ARRIBA, Honduras, July 3 (Reuters) - Rescuers labored with pickaxes and shovels to dig out 11 miners trapped by a landslide at a small gold mine in southern Honduras, and are close to reaching three of the workers, officials said on Thursday.
The workers were trapped when the entrance of the mine in San Juan Arriba, 110 km (70 miles) south of the capital Tegucigalpa, collapsed on Wednesday.
Firefighters said they had made contact with three of the workers, though eight are still missing.
"They are slowly advancing. They are very close to three of the 11 workers trapped, and maybe they will get to them in the coming hours," Moises Alvarado, a senior emergency services official in the region told local radio.
The collapse occurred in a drought-stricken region of Honduras that had been a gold mining center for Spanish colonists. The rise in gold prices in recent years had spurred dozens of small mines to open in the area.
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