Crews rescue 80 trapped miners in the Dominican Republic

Crews in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday rescued 80 miners who were trapped after a partial mine collapse.

The accident did not result in any injuries or deaths, according to Civil Defense.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Energy and Mines said that miners became trapped when part of a zinc and copper mine collapsed at Syros in Maimoun.

The mine is located in a rural area northwest of the capital, Santo Domingo, where relatives were anxiously waiting for their loved ones to be rescued.

The ministry said earlier that all the miners are underground in a safe area and are being lifted to the upper ground.

Dominican Mining Corp, a subsidiary of Australian company Perilya, owns the Cerro of Maimón mine concession, which spans 5,547 acres.

The company operates an open-pit copper and zinc mine with reserves of approximately 6 million tons of those metals.

The concession was acquired from Falconbridge Dominicana in April 2002.

Local media reported that similar incidents had occurred in the past, with a miner killed in a collapse in December 2021.

Then in 2022, two workers, one Dominican and one Colombian, were rescued after spending several days trapped by an underground landslide.