Colombia gold mine collapse kills 14 and injures seven

Fourteen people were killed and seven injured when an illegal gold mine collapsed in southwestern Colombia, according to reports published on October 19 and 20, 2026. The Jerusalem Post placed the accident in the rural Chambero sector of Santa Barbara de Iscuande municipality in Nariño.³⁴

Search operations end

Nariño Governor Luis Alfonso Escobar said search and rescue operations had concluded, according to The Jerusalem Post. Deutsche Welle also reported that the search for survivors was over, describing the accident as a landslide at a mine in an area controlled by armed groups.¹³

Rescue teams struggled to reach the site because of the terrain and the presence of criminal groups, Deutsche Welle reported. Rescuers moved bodies from the mine to a canoe on a nearby river as part of the evacuation operation.¹

Anadolu Agency reported that 13 bodies had been recovered in Santa Bárbara de Iscuandé and that one body remained in neighboring Guapi. Four of the seven injured people were in serious condition, according to the agency.⁶

Governor seeks changes

According to The Jerusalem Post, Escobar asked Colombia’s government, mining regulator and Mines and Energy Ministry to expedite efforts to bring unauthorized and small-scale miners into the formal sector. His appeal sought improvements in working conditions and safety standards.³

According to The Jerusalem Post, loosely regulated informal mines are widespread across Colombia’s countryside and frequently operate without sufficient safeguards. Deutsche Welle likewise reported that workers in informal mines generally work with insufficient safety measures.¹³

The collapse follows another fatal mining accident in Nariño. Thirteen people died in a similar incident in Policarpa in August, according to The Jerusalem Post. Deutsche Welle also reported an August mining accident in the province with the same death toll.¹³

Gold and armed groups

The New York Times reported that small-scale, unlicensed mining operations in Colombia are increasing in number, driven by a rise in the global price of gold. Euronews described Nariño, on the border with Ecuador, as a center of illegal mining.²⁵

Illegal mining is a major source of financing for armed groups in Nariño, according to Deutsche Welle. The outlet reported that local authorities say gold extraction is displacing cocaine production in the area. It also identified deforestation and the risk of mercury contamination in rivers as consequences of illegal gold extraction.¹