Rescuers race to save Chile miners after collapse kills at least one

Rescuers in Chile are continuing to search for four miners trapped in a mine that collapsed after an earthquake two days ago, after the body of one was found.

The state-owned Codelco company said that human remains have been found at its El Teniente copper mine, about 70km (43 miles) south-east of the capital Santiago.

The firm says that rescuer efforts are continuing. The fate of the other four employees is unclear.

The collapse of some of the mine’s underground tunnels was caused by a 4.2 magnitude tremor on Thursday. The trapped miners at the time were working deep below the surface.

One person had been reported killed after the earthquake, with five trapped in the mine.

Codelco said that the victim found in the mine on Saturday still needs to be identified, but the families of the five trapped miners had been notified.

“This discovery fills us with sadness, but it also tells us that we are in the right place, that the strategy we followed led us to them,” El Teniente Division’s general manager Andres Music said in a statement.

Rescue teams have been using heavy machinery in an effort to clear the blocked passageways to try to reach the miners.

Mr Music said the rescuers were hoping to be proceeding at a rate of 15-20m (49-66ft) every 24 hours.

El Teniente is the world’s largest underground copper mine.

It is located high in the Andes mountains in central Chile.