Four of five trapped workers at Codelco's El Teniente copper mine have been found dead, the company said Sunday, as rescue teams work to clear underground passages that collapsed in a strong tremor last week.The latest fatality brings the total death toll from the accident to five, including one person who died at the time of the incident on Thursday evening.Codelco discovered the first trapped worker on Saturday and another two early Sunday.A fourth worker was discovered later in the morning, said El Teniente general manager Andes Music.’We worked overnight with the utmost care, looking metre by metre,’ he told a press conference. ‘I also don’t want to create false hopes. Let’s hope our rescue workers continue to make progress.’Music said earlier that the discovery of the remains ‘deeply saddens us, but it also tells us that we are in the right place’ to find the others.As of early Sunday, rescue teams had cleared 24m of blocked passages, out of 90m that Codelco officials previously said could be necessary to reach the trapped workers, in the new Andesita section of the mine.The collapse occurred on Thursday around 5.30pm local time, caused by one of the largest tremors ever recorded at El Teniente with the impact of a 4.2 magnitude quake.Codelco is investigating whether the cause was mining activity or natural tectonic shifts in the earthquake-prone country.Thursday's quake resulted in an initial toll of one dead and nine injured.President Gabriel Boric visited miners' relatives on Saturday and vowed to ‘complete the search”.’Codelco has all the resources, experience and technology to carry out’ the search, he said.Work has been suspended at El Teniente, which began operating in the early 1900s and boasts more than 4,500km of underground tunnels.Last year, the site produced 356,000 metric tonnes of copper – nearly 7% of the total for Chile.Chile is the world's largest copper producer, responsible for nearly a quarter of global supply with about 5.3mn metric tonnes in 2024.The metal is critical for wiring, motors and renewable energy technology.
