Codelco confirms death of one of trapped El Teniente miners

[Ben Graham]

Chilean copper giant Codelco has confirmed the discovery of a second body at its El Teniente mine, where five workers have been trapped since a collapse triggered by a powerful tremor on Thursday.

The company announced Saturday that the victim’s identity has not yet been confirmed by authorities. One miner was previously reported dead at the time of the accident, which occurred in the Andesita section of the mine, about 75 kilometres southeast of Santiago.

“This discovery fills us with sadness, but it also tells us that we are in the right place, that the strategy we followed led us to them,” general manager of El Teniente, Andres Music, said in a statement.

He added that the search will continue “with strength and hope,” though the pace will slow as crews proceed with greater caution.

Rescue operations have faced delays due to ongoing aftershocks. As of Saturday, Codelco had cleared just over 20 per cent of the blocked underground tunnels but had not yet made contact with the remaining trapped miners.

One dead, five missing after collapse at Chile copper mine

The mine accident occurred around 5:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, following a magnitude 4.2 earthquake—one of the strongest ever recorded at El Teniente.

Minister Aurora Williams announced on Friday afternoon the government was suspending all activities at the mine.

Codelco is investigating whether the deadly incident was caused solely by seismic activity or if mining operations played a role.

El Teniente, in operation since 1905, produced 356,000 metric tonnes of copper in 2024. The massive complex stretches over 4,500 km of tunnels and underground galleries in the Andes Mountains, about 75 km southeast of Chile’s capital, Santiago.