Seven miners died following an explosion at a coal mine in Sutatausa, in Colombia’s Cundinamarca department, according to reports from El Nacional and El Tiempo. One of the workers initially brought out alive was subsequently included among the fatalities, El Tiempo reported.
The emergency began on the afternoon of June 4, 2026, at the San Antonio 3 mine. Sutatausa is in central Colombia, about 74 kilometers from Bogotá. El Nacional described the operation as an illegal coal mine and reported that an accumulation of methane inside the underground workings caused a detonation, trapping miners below ground.
Initial information reflected the evolving rescue operation and a lower death toll. Colombia’s National Mining Agency said its mine-rescue teams recovered five bodies from inside San Antonio 3 and transferred them to the Technical Investigation Corps, or CTI, in Ubaté. Another miner had been located earlier after the first explosion, taking the initially reported number of deaths to six.
At that stage, the agency said its personnel were continuing work to evacuate one more worker. The earlier report did not specify that worker’s condition. El Tiempo subsequently reported seven deaths and said a miner who had been rescued alive was among those who died, accounting for the later increase in the toll.
Investigation follows rescue work
Authorities kept investigations open to establish the precise causes of the explosion and determine possible responsibility for the mine’s operation. Although methane accumulation was reported as the immediate trigger, the cited accounts did not set out the investigation’s final findings or identify any person as responsible.
The disaster renewed attention on safety conditions in Colombia’s coal-mining industry. El Nacional reported that accidents recur in both authorized and unauthorized workings, particularly in the country’s central regions. The classification of San Antonio 3 as illegal made the mine’s operating status part of the circumstances surrounding the emergency, while the investigation remained responsible for resolving the exact cause and any liabilities.
Sutatausa had also experienced recent deadly mining incidents. Two explosions in the municipality during the preceding May killed 13 miners, according to El Nacional. That earlier loss, followed by the San Antonio 3 blast, intensified concerns reported around whether controls over such operations were effective.
The successive casualty reports also documented different points in the response rather than a single fixed count. The National Mining Agency’s statement covered the recovery of five miners, the earlier location of another and the continuing effort to evacuate an additional worker. The later El Tiempo account placed the final reported toll at seven and clarified that a worker recovered alive had died. No identities, further medical details or completed investigative conclusions are included in the available reporting.
