A collapse on Thursday due to a strong tremor killed 1 worker and left 5 others trapped in the new Andesita section of the copper mine
Chilean copper miner Codelco said on Saturday it has cleared just over a fifth of the blocked underground tunnels needed to reach trapped workers at its flagship El Teniente mine but has not yet made contact with them.
A collapse on Thursday evening due to a strong tremor killed one worker and left five others trapped in the new Andesita section of El Teniente.
Rescue teams have now used heavy machinery to clear 20 metres (65.62ft) out of 90 metres of passages needed to reach the location where Codelco believes the workers to be, said El Teniente’s general manager Andres Music.
Rescue teams are progressing at a rate of about 15 to 20 metres every 24 hours, Music said. He noted that it was difficult to predict when they would be able to fully clear the remaining 70 metres, where there is a truck turnaround wall.
