Chile copper mine collapse leaves one dead, five missing

The National Copper Corporation of Chile, known as Codelco, stopped operations Thursday at one of the country’s largest mines. An earthquake nearby triggered a partial collapse at the facility, killing at least one person, according to the company. A magnitude 5 earthquake occurred Thursday afternoon about 17 miles northeast of the mine, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Rescue crews were still searching Friday for five missing people and had not established communication with those workers, according to Codelco General Manager Andres Music.

What else do we know about the mine? The El Teniente mine is located on the western slopes of the Andes Mountains. The deceased miner was working with about 500 other people in a 15-mile tunnel complex at the time of the earthquake, according to Codelco. About 2,500 people were working throughout the mine. El Teniente is the world’s largest underground mine and has operated for more than 120 years.

Dig deeper: Read Johanna Huebscher’s report from 2023 about a rescue effort to pull 41 workers from a tunnel in India.