5 miners killed in Bolivia landslide

May 27

 

Five gold mining workers were killed after being buried by a landslide when extracting gold on the banks of a river in central Bolivia, local authorities said Thursday.

 

The victims of the tragedy in the community of Huajchamayu, in the town of Cocapata, in central Cochabamba department, ranged in age from 20 to 40 years old, according to the police report.

 

"The tragedy occurred on Wednesday. The doctors at the Falsuri Health Center received the information at midnight Wednesday and, along with the police, went to the site, where they verified the existence of five bodies," the regional police commander said.

 

The bodies were recovered early Thursday, the Cochabamba government's secretary of mining, Eleuterio Galindo, told reporters, adding that other miners managed to escape before the landslide hit.

 

xinhua