The collapse of an illegal gold mine called “Bulla Loca” in the city of La Paragua, Venezuela, left at least a dozen people dead, although the exact death toll varies among authorities.
President Nicolás Maduro said in his most recent update, this Wednesday (21), during a televised event, that the balance of the landslide is 15 dead and 11 injured.
Maduro cited figures from the governor of Bolívar state, Ángel Marcano, who pointed out that the number of victims could increase.
The Venezuelan leader added that two helicopters are working to remove people affected by the collapse from the site.
Previously, the mayor of La Paragua, Yorgi Arciniega, told CNN that there were at least 30 dead and 100 buried.
A CNN tries to contact the mayor to question him about the number that Maduro later provided.
In turn, Edgar Colina Reyes, Secretary of Citizen Security for the state of Bolívar, told CNN which, so far, has only been able to confirm two deaths and two injuries while awaiting new data due to the difficulty of reaching the place where the event occurred.
Colina highlighted, however, that he hopes to reach the area of the collapse to check the number of deaths and be able to give more precise statements.
The slide
The landslide, which occurred in an area of difficult access, around 750 kilometers southeast of Caracas, happened on Tuesday (20), at 3 pm local time, said the official, adding that relief teams were already on site carrying out rescue work.
The state of Bolívar, a forested region in southeastern Venezuela, has long been affected by illegal mining of gold and other minerals.
In recent years, illegal mining, often controlled by criminal groups, has expanded enormously, reaching the territory of the Canaima National Park, a virgin territory on the border between Venezuela and Brazil.
The city of La Paragua is approximately 60 kilometers from the limits of this park.
There was another landslide in the region at the end of last year
On December 8, 2023, a gold mine collapsed in Paraíba de San José de Wadamapa, leaving at least 10 people dead, the Citizen Security Secretariat of the state of Bolívar reported at the time, the same state where the collapse of the Bulla Loca mine occurred. this week.
The official number of fatalities, however, contradicts that published by the NGO SOS Orinoco, which states that deaths rose to 18.
The NGO condemned what it considers to be a dangerous activity due to the working conditions and equipment used.
According to the entity, another similar accident occurred on November 12, but on that occasion only injuries were reported.
This time, SOS Orinoco added in its report on X (formerly Twitter), “a 10-meter ravine collapsed in the same mine: at least 18 Venezuelans and indigenous people died and 3 Brazilians were injured”.
Source: CNN Brasil
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