Authorities say the bodies of 12 miners have been recovered from a gold mine that collapsed. -AP
Flooding has collapsed a gold mine in southern Venezuela, killing at least 12 miners, local authorities say, adding that the victims' bodies have been returned to their families.
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The Talavera mine, located in El Callao, in Venezuela's Bolivar state, flooded on Wednesday due to heavy rains but rescue workers could not finish recovery efforts before Saturday.
Another 112 people survived the mine collapse, Bolivar citizen security secretary Edgar Colina said, and authorities will return to the site on Sunday to check for other survivors or victims.
Tunnels at the Talavera mine are opened in a rudimentary fashion by informal miners looking for gold.
The mine is in the so-called Orinoco Mining Arc.
Advocacy groups and other organisations have issued warnings about the region, with the United Nations last year reporting that human rights violations take place in Venezuela's mining regions.
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