”We stand side by side with the families and the entire community in the distress that this situation causes", writes the mining company Codelco in a statement, according to Reuters.
On Thursday, the first fatality was reported since a part of the mine collapsed after an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.2. On Saturday, the second deceased was found and on Sunday, three more.
On Sunday morning, the rescue personnel had cleared 24 meters of blocked passages, of approximately 90 meters that were previously said to be necessary to reach the remaining worker, in a new part of the mine.
Around 100 people are participating in the operation at a depth of approximately 900 meters in the mine. It is still unclear if the still missing worker is alive.
Chile accounts for nearly a quarter of the world's copper production, and the mine produced almost seven percent of the country's copper last year.
