
Chile mine collapse: Search ends after 5 miners found dead – DW – 08/04/2025
The body of the fifth and last missing miner was found on Sunday, days after the collapse of a tunnel at the world's largest copper mine in Chile.
"Today we finally found [dead] the last of the missing workers," Aquiles Cubillos, prosecutor for Chile's O'Higgins region, told reporters.
Rescuers dug two dozen meters (78 feet) of underground passages to retrieve the body of the miners.
On Thursday, a part of the El Teniente copper mine collapsed after a 4.2 magnitude tremor, which initially killed one person and injured nine others.
Following the tremors and the partial collapse of the El Teniente tunnel, which trapped five mine workers, operations were suspended at the tunnel.
It is still unknown whether the tremor was due to a natural quake or because of mining activity.
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A team of 100 rescue workers tried to search for the missing miners.
State-run mining firm Codelco, which operates the tunnels, discovered the first trapped worker on Saturday and the other four on Sunday.
Codelco Chairman Maximo Pacheco said the miner would convene international experts to probe and determine "what we did wrong."
"This tragedy hits us hard," Pacheco told reporters at Codelco's offices in the city of
Rancagua, near the mine in central Chile.
Chile's mining industry is one of the safest in the world, with a fatality rate of 0.02% last year, according to the National Geology and Mining Service of Chile.
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DW
13 hours ago
- DW
Chile mine collapse: Search ends after 5 miners found dead – DW – 08/04/2025
The rescue team dug several feet underground to retrieve the bodies of the miners who got trapped after a partial collapse of the El Teniente copper mine in Chile. The body of the fifth and last missing miner was found on Sunday, days after the collapse of a tunnel at the world's largest copper mine in Chile. "Today we finally found [dead] the last of the missing workers," Aquiles Cubillos, prosecutor for Chile's O'Higgins region, told reporters. Rescuers dug two dozen meters (78 feet) of underground passages to retrieve the body of the miners. On Thursday, a part of the El Teniente copper mine collapsed after a 4.2 magnitude tremor, which initially killed one person and injured nine others. Following the tremors and the partial collapse of the El Teniente tunnel, which trapped five mine workers, operations were suspended at the tunnel. It is still unknown whether the tremor was due to a natural quake or because of mining activity. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A team of 100 rescue workers tried to search for the missing miners. State-run mining firm Codelco, which operates the tunnels, discovered the first trapped worker on Saturday and the other four on Sunday. Codelco Chairman Maximo Pacheco said the miner would convene international experts to probe and determine "what we did wrong." "This tragedy hits us hard," Pacheco told reporters at Codelco's offices in the city of Rancagua, near the mine in central Chile. Chile's mining industry is one of the safest in the world, with a fatality rate of 0.02% last year, according to the National Geology and Mining Service of Chile.


DW
14 hours ago
- DW
Mexico: Veracruz prison riot leaves 7 dead – DW – 08/04/2025
The spiraling unrest at the Tuxpan prison in eastern Mexico led to state forces intervening to restore order. Inmates were reportedly angered by the Grupo Sombra criminal organization operating in the prison facility. A prison riot in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz led to 7 people dead and 11 others wounded, regional authorities said Sunday. The riot broke out at the Taxpan prison in the city of the same name. Videos circulating on social media showed fires at the penal facility and plumes of smoke rising from the prison grounds. "As a result of the riot, we report the tragic deaths of seven inmates and 11 injured people," the Department of Public Security of Veracruz said in a statement. Police and security forces intervened to quell the unrest at the prison. The riot reportedly broke out on Saturday after inmates expressed anger over extortion and abuse by members of the Grupo Sombra criminal organization at the prison. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A 2012 report by Mexico's human rights commission found that six out of 10 Mexican prisons are controlled by either prison gangs or drug cartels. Mexican prisons also face other issues such as overcrowding and corruption. The Tuxpan prison had 778 inmates in June, exceeding the 735 prisoners it was designed to hold. According to Mexican newspaper , Grupo Sombra made its first public appearance in 2017, when its hitmen gave frozen turkeys and soda to residents in Veracruz for Christmas that year. Armed masked men forced women to smile for the camera and men had to give a thumbs up in a photo posted online to show gratitude for the "gift." More recently, Grupo Sombra was linked to the femicide of a 65-year-old retired teacher in July. reported that Grupo Sombra consider themselves a splinter group of the Gulf Cartel, and that they aim to fight the Los Zetas syndicate and Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in Veracruz. Grupo Sombra also claim to engage in social work that the Mexican government doesn't do.


DW
19 hours ago
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UK: Social media people smugglers to face jail – DW – 08/03/2025
The British government is looking to pass new legislation to clamp down on people smugglers who use social media to promote their services, including English Channel crossings, fake documentation and accomodation. People smugglers who use social media to advertise their services to migrants looking to enter the United Kingdom illegally could face up to five years in prison, according to new plans announced by the British government. The facilitation of illegal immigration is already a criminal offense in the UK, but the government wants to give police and law enforcement agencies more options to combat smuggling gangs who promote illegal crossings of the English Channel online. According to analysis by the British interior ministry, the Home Office, a record 25,000 people have made the dangerous journey this year alone, around 80% of whom used social media to contact and communicate with smugglers. "Selling the false promise of a safe journey to the UK and a life in this country – whether on or offline – simply to make money, is nothing short of immoral," Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told . "These criminals have no issue with leading migrants to life-threatening situations using brazen tactics on social media. We are determined to do everything we can to stop them, wherever they operate." Prime Minister Keir Starmer's center-left Labour government is under increasing domestic pressure to combat what are colloquially known in the UK as "small boats." The term, which US President Donald Trump appeared unfamiliar with during a recent press conference alongside Starmer in Scotland, refers to the flimsy and often over-crowded vessels used by smugglers to transport migrants on the perilous journey from France to England. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In November 2024, a smuggler based in the northern English town of Preston was jailed for 17 years after posting videos of migrants apparently thanking him for his help, while Albanian smuggling gangs have been found promoting £12,000 (€13,750 / $15,900) "package deals" including travel and fake documentation, accommodation and illegal work upon arrival. Last month, the government launched a new sanctions regime allowing it to freeze assets, impose travel bans and block banking access for individuals and entities involved in irregular migration. And Home Secretary Cooper told that she was also planning a "major overhaul" of the asylum appeal process in the hope of driving down numbers of arrivals. "If we speed up the decision-making appeal system and keep increasing returns, we hope to be able to make quite a big reduction in the overall numbers in the asylum system," she said. "That is the best way to restore order and control." The opposition Conservative Party, which was in power for 14 years prior to its defeat in the 2024 general election, criticized the plans as "too little, too late." Under pressure from the far-right populist Reform UK party, it has proposed what it calls a "no-nonsense" strategy of automatically deporting anyone who arrives in the UK via unauthorized routes.