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Three miners in Canada have been rescued after spending two days trapped underground in northern British Columbia (BC) when a mine collapsed.
In a statement to local media, mine operator Newmont said the trio were safe and “in good health and spirits”, having been rescued on Thursday night.
The trio were trapped for two days by a pile of debris 20m to 30m (65ft to 100ft) long and 7m to 8m high, after part of the Red Chris mine on Tahltan Nation territory collapsed.
The men - named by their company as Kevin Coumbs, Darien Maduke and Jesse Chubaty – had access to food, water and ventilation while stuck in an underground refuge chamber.
The firm In question, Newmont, said its statement that the men were being supported by medical teams.
It added that the workers’ families had been told about the rescue at Red Chris, which is about 260 miles (420km) west of the town of Fort Nelson.
The men were rescued after officials cleared the original access tunnel to the mine, local media reported. A full investigation will be carried out into the incident.
The three men worked at the mine as contractors for BC-based drilling firm Hy-Tech Drilling.
While trapped, they are thought to have sheltered in a refuge chamber designed to support 16 people. Officials previously said they had access to enough supplies for an extended stay.
The first cave-in occurred on Tuesday, when an area of ground in the mine collapsed near an area in which the group were working, Newmont previously said.
The miners were able to move to a sealed area underground, before a second collapse on Wednesday further blocked their movement, Newmont said.
Officials then worked to try to re-establish communications with the trapped workers before Thursday’s rescue mission.
The facility In which the three were trapped is an open-pit copper and gold mine, which was constructed in 2014.
Production at the mine was suspended while the rescue operation was carried out. (BBC)
•The entrance to the Red Chris Mine near Iskut, British Columbia, on Wednesday.Credit…Dave Middleton/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press
