Colombia is mourning after a deadly mine collapse claimed at least 14 lives and left seven people injured in the southwestern province of Nariño. The disaster struck an illegal gold mine in the rural Chambero sector of Santa Bárbara de Iscuandé municipality, once again exposing the serious dangers of unregulated mining in remote areas.
Search and rescue work has now finished, according to Nariño Governor Luis Alfonso Escobar. He called on the national government, the National Mining Agency and the Ministry of Mines and Energy to speed up efforts to formalise small-scale and informal mining. Better regulation, he said, would improve safety standards and working conditions for miners who often operate without proper protection.
Colombia’s Ombudsman’s Office had earlier urged authorities to send enough personnel and equipment, including military air support, to help evacuate the injured. It also asked officials to prepare the hospital network, consider deploying the Benkos Biohó hospital ship from Guapi, and ensure the dignified identification and handling of victims’ remains. The office warned that illegal armed groups active in the region could block rescue teams and humanitarian workers from reaching the site safely.
This tragedy comes only two months after another fatal mining accident in the same province. In August, 13 people died in a similar incident in Policarpa municipality. The repeated losses have drawn attention to the risks faced by workers at informal sites where safety measures are often weak or missing.
Illegal and unregulated gold mining continues to pose a major challenge across the country. A recent government report, prepared with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, found evidence of alluvial gold mining on 118,410 hectares of land in 2025. Of that total, 75 percent was linked to illicit or unauthorised operations. In 85.6 percent of the municipalities where such mining was detected, at least one illegal armed group was present.
Authorities now face growing pressure to tighten oversight, bring informal miners into the legal system, and protect remote communities from further disasters. Without stronger action, the deadly pattern of mine collapse incidents is likely to continue.
