Eleven people were killed and four injured in an accidental explosion at a Colombian coal mine in Cucunuba , near Bogota , on Saturday , according to the local fire department .
The victims were miners who were working despite the health emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic . Most Colombians are quarantined by government order, but mining is among the activities exempted .
Captain Alvaro Farfan , head of the fire department of the department of Cundinamarca , told local media that the accident occurred in a legally operated coal mine , although he did not give details about the type of explosion.
On Friday , six other miners were killed in a similar incident at a coal mine in the municipality of San Cayetano in northeastern Colombia .
After the new accident , the state -run National Mining Agency announced the suspension of “the underground coal mining activity ” in Cucunuba .
The agency confirmed the report of 11 dead and four injured.
