The death toll in an explosion in a coal mine in northeastern Colombia has risen to seven, while eight workers remain unaccounted for, the National Mining Agency (ANM) said Saturday, APA reports citing Agence France Presse (AFP).
The toll was up from the three dead reported earlier in the accident Monday.
Some 70 rescuers were continuing a desperate search for victims, while anguished families waited nearby for news.
Officials said a buildup of gases apparently led to a fire, explosion and then the collapse of nearly 90 percent of the mine in the town of El Zulia, near the border with Venezuela.
The gases initially prevented rescuers from approaching the area.
The mine, unlike many in the region that work outside the law, operated with state permits.
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