At least 15 people have died and eleven have been injured in the collapse that occurred this Wednesday at the Bulla Loca mine, located in La Paragua, Bolívar Province, in eastern Venezuela, according to authorities. This update comes as rescue teams continue to search for survivors and assess the site after the incident, which began when a substantial breach opened and the mine roof gave way, sending debris down to a depth of about 30 meters. Emergency crews have been working in coordination with local responders since the moment of the collapse, maintaining a continuous presence on the ground to manage the operation and prioritize those affected.
The Bolívar state governor, Ángel Marcano, who announced the current victim count, arrived at the scene in the afternoon to oversee the response. He emphasized that rescue efforts would persist and that personnel would remain deployed in close coordination with regional teams to maximize the chances of locating any trapped workers. This ongoing commitment highlights the priority given to search and rescue in the days following such disasters, when time is critical and every hour matters for potential survivors.
The situation drew a response from Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, who acknowledged the official numbers and rejected earlier reports that suggested higher casualties of 40 deaths and 100 missing persons. “Those figures were provided by the municipal mayor in a moment of distress,” Marcano conveyed to the president. Maduro reaffirmed that the information now confirmed by the Bolívar governor is being used to guide rescue operations, noting that two helicopters are involved in the relief work and expressing his solidarity with the families of the victims. The president’s remarks underscore the challenges inherent in rapidly updating casualty figures during a live rescue operation, where evolving data can lead to initial misstatements before verification is completed. (Official sources, authorities as cited).