Chilean copper mining company Codelco reported on Saturday that it had discovered the remains of one of the five miners trapped in its flagship El Teniente mine. This brings the death toll from Thursday's collapse, triggered by a powerful earthquake, to two.
The company said that the identity of the second victim still needs to be officially confirmed by authorities. On Thursday, the death of another miner had already been confirmed following an accident in the Andesite section of the mine.
“This discovery fills us with sorrow, but also confirms we’re in the right place. The strategy we followed led us to them,” said Andrés Musiak, general manager of El Teniente.
He added that Codelco would continue rescue efforts “with strength and hope,” but with increased caution, which may slow the pace of progress.
Musiak did not provide details on how the remains were retrieved, nor did he comment on the progress toward reaching the area where the remaining miners may be located.
Earlier the same day, Musiak said Codelco had cleared just over 20% of the blocked underground tunnels needed to reach the area where workers are believed to be. As of his statement, contact had not yet been established with them.
According to Musiak, rescue teams are using heavy machinery and aim to advance at a rate of approximately 15–20 meters per day, although exact timelines remain unpredictable.
The accident occurred around 5:30 p.m. local time on Thursday and was caused by one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded at El Teniente — with a magnitude of 4.2.
Codelco is currently investigating whether the quake was triggered by mining activity or was the result of natural tectonic shifts in Chile, a seismically active country.