BOGOTA: An explosion at a coal mine in Colombia’s Boyaca province killed 11 people and left four missing, the national mining agency (ANM) said on Sunday.
The accident occurred on Saturday night and was caused by a build up of methane gas at the mine, which is located in the Tasco municipality, the ANM said.
Colombia’s mining industry includes huge open-pit and underground projects operated by multinational companies, as well as hundreds of small, informal deposits.
Accidents in the mining sector occur regularly as some enterprises are illegal, or do not properly enforce safety measures.
The mine in Tasco had approval to operate, the ANM said. Rescue crews and fire fighters fear that the four people still missing were also killed in the explosion.
Colombia saw 128 mining accidents in 2021, which killed 148 dead. So far this year 19 mining accidents have taken place, with 36 deaths, according to the ANM.
Colombia mine explosion kills 11 people, four missing
https://arab.news/6mj3e
Colombia mine explosion kills 11 people, four missing
- Colombia’s mining industry includes huge open-pit and underground projects operated by multinational companies
German poll candidate under fire over schoolgirl comments
- Hagel mentioned one girl in particular who stuck in his mind
- The video has provoked a backlash, with Greens MP Zoe Mayer and other critics accusing Hagel of sexism
BERLIN: A politician from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right party has come under fire during a local election campaign after a video resurfaced of him making comments about schoolgirls.
Manuel Hagel, 37, is the CDU’s top candidate for regional elections in the prosperous southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg on March 8.
In the video from 2018, Hagel can be seen talking enthusiastically about a visit to a secondary school class in his constituency where 80 percent of the pupils were girls.
“There are worse places for a 29-year-old MP to be,” he grins.
He then mentions one girl in particular who stuck in his mind, noting her “brown hair” and “hazel eyes.”
The video has provoked a backlash, with Greens MP Zoe Mayer and other critics accusing Hagel of sexism.
“What signal does this send to young women who want to get involved in politics?” Mayer said in a clip on Instagram about the video.
During a TV debate aired by the ARD broadcaster on Tuesday, Hagel said he regretted his “stupid mistake,” adding that his wife had “given him a real dressing down” over the comments.
For the past five years, the state government in Baden-Wuerttemberg has been led by the Greens in coalition with the CDU.
However, the CDU is currently leading the polls and looks set to head the next government — possibly in collaboration with the Greens again.
Markus Frohnmaier, the top candidate for the far-right AfD, seized on the video to harangue the Green party candidate about whether he would team up with Hagel during the TV debate.
“Can you still envisage cooperation with the CDU in Baden-Wuerttemberg in this context?” Frohnmaier asked the Greens’ Cem Ozdemir.
The latest polls show the CDU with around 28-percent support in Baden-Wuerttemberg, with the Greens on 22 percent and the AfD on 20 percent.
