August 15, 2026 - At least six mining workers have lost their lives this Friday after an explosion occurred in a coal mine located in the municipality of Cucunubá, in the department of Cundinamarca, in northeastern Colombia, authorities have confirmed.

"We regret to inform that the six people trapped in the El Porvenir 1 mine, in Cucunubá, were found dead after the rescue efforts were completed," expressed the governor of Cundinamarca, Jorge Emilio Rey, through his social networks.

The departmental leader detailed that the mining activity taking place in the site did not comply with regulations, since the National Mining Agency (ANM) had ordered the temporary suspension of work after detecting safety failures during a recent inspection. The site is part of a Special Reserve Area in the process of formalization and was pending to address the technical requirements set by the authorities.

"The mine is part of a Special Reserve Area for its formalization and had recently been subject to a monitoring visit by the National Mining Agency, which found safety aspects to improve and ordered its suspension while a improvement plan was being developed," he clarified.

In light of this scenario, the governor has indicated that the competent authorities, along with the Prosecutor's Office, must determine the possible responsibilities of the owning company and clarify why, despite the official order to halt operations, there were still personnel carrying out extraction tasks inside the gallery at the time of the incident.