At least 21 miners were reported dead, and nine were wounded after a Colombia coal mine exploded, with officials saying it was an accident.

According to Daily Mail, the coal mine near Sutatausa town collapsed on Tuesday after an explosion that blocked several of its entrances.

Rescue teams were reported to have worked nonstop for more than 30 hours to find survivors and retrieve bodies.

Cundinamarca province governor Nicolas Garcia announced that nine workers who survived the accident had been released from the hospital while relatives of the killed miners were receiving psychological support.

Officials confirmed that all of the workers at the coal mine at the time of the accident had been accounted for, with the last 10 victims removed from the mine on Thursday.

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Colombia Coal Mine Explosion

Media outlets earlier reported that only 11 people were killed in Colombia's coal mine explosion. It was before rescue workers found the remaining 10 other miners trapped under the debris.

President Gustavo Petro tweeted that the large-scale rescue efforts to free the remaining 10 miners trapped underground had failed after the death toll rose to 21, Al Jazeera reported.

The president added that he is offering his "solidarity to their families. There was reportedly a build-up of gas at the mining site. 

It caused an explosion after a worker's tool caused a spark. It then spread through the connected, legal mines.

Nine miners managed to escape, while 10 remained trapped 700 to 900 meters underground when the coal mine exploded.

To rescue the remaining 10 miners, more than 100 rescue workers were deployed.

Nicolas Garcia thanked the rescue workers who worked nonstop for two days to rescue the trapped bodies underground.

Colombia Mining Accidents

The most serious incident of a mining accident in Colombia occurred in June 2010, wherein 73 people were killed.

According to Al Jazeera, mining accidents usually occur in illegal operations or do not impose sufficient security measures.

In June last year, Colombia's rescuers continued searching for three miners after an explosion of another coal mine last May 30. At the time, two more bodies were pulled from a shaft, bringing the number of casualties to 12.

Officials previously said a build-up of gas also caused the explosion, BBC News reported.

Colombia's National Mining Agency said the mine's conditions inside were difficult, with bodies having to be transported through a 300-meter-long tunnel at a 35-degree angle.

The agency said they could not use a mining cart during the rescue as rockfalls were over the route.

Mining accidents are not unusual in Colombia. The number of people killed in 2021 due to mining accidents was 148.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Colombia Coal Mine Explosion Kills at Least 11 - from Reuters