Nicaragua gold mine collapse: First two miners rescued

Rescuers in Nicaragua have started pulling out miners trapped deep underground for more than 24 hours after a cave-in at an unlicensed gold mine. Using a pulley system rigged through a narrow tunnel, the emergency crews first rescued two miners named Roger Darse and Abel Herrera, according to a broadcast of the official TV channel 8 from the site of the collapse. There had been 28 “guiriseros,” or informal gold miners, working in the shaft when the mouth of the mine caved in because of a landslide triggered by heavy downpours, early Thursday morning. Two workers buried near the surface had earlier managed to dig their way out after the collapse in the remote village of El Comal in northeastern Nicaragua. Authorities are trying to confirm whether any miners have died, noting that the incident happened in a hard-to-reach area with poor communication.

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