Bogota: An explosion at a coal mine in northeastern Colombia on Wednesday has trapped some 30 workers, the mayor of the town where the blast occurred said.
The explosion was the latest in a series of mine accidents in South America since last year, including a collapse in Chile in August that buried 33 workers until they were rescued. In June, a blast killed around 70 miners in Colombia.
"They've taken eight people out of the mine but it's not known if they're alive or not alive," Yamile Rangel, mayor of Sardinata municipality, told local radio.
The blast happened in the La Preciosa mine in the Sardinata municipality in Norte de Santander department.
In November, nine workers were killed at two small coal mines in Colombia's Cundinamarca province.
