Nine workers die in Colombia coal mine explosion

A coal mine explosion in Colombia's Cundinamarca province killed nine workers and left six others injured, the national mining agency said on Monday, several weeks after it issued risk control recommendations for the site.

The blast occurred at the La Ciscuda mine, operated by Carbonera Los Pinos. The company could not immediately be reached for comment.

The mining agency said the accident seemed to be caused by a build-up of gases, and that it had recommended that the mine strengthen its safety measures during a site visit on April 9 in which it had identified gases, including methane, that it said could become dangerous.

"As the ANM has warned during its inspection visits, coal deposits can present accumulations of gases such as methane, as well as concentrations of coal dust,” the agency said in a statement.

The six workers who survived were taken to a regional hospital for treatment.

Serious accidents are common at open-pit and subterranean coal and gold mines in Colombia, mostly at illegal or informal operations and those without proper safety measures.

-Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra; Writing by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Lincoln Feast./Reuters