27 people died in a fire at a gold mine in Peru

On Saturday morning 27 people died in a fire in a small gold mine in the Arequipa region of southern Peru. The local administration has announced that the fire was caused by a short circuit and then broke out in a tunnel of the mine causing the death of the miners who were inside. The mine, called La Esperanza, is operated by the Yanaquihua mining company, which has not released a statement about the incident. For Peru it is the mining accident with the most deaths in the last twenty years.

#UPDATE At least 27 workers have died in a fire at a gold mine in a remote area of southern Peru, authorities say.

It is one of the worst mining tragedies in the country’s recent history. pic.twitter.com/55oS1vxtG5

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 8, 2023