Rescue teams are scrambling to reach a trapped miner after a coal mine collapse in northern Spain claimed at least two lives. The incident occurred at the Vega de Rengos mine in Cangas del Narcea, Asturias, on Saturday afternoon.
Emergency services were alerted at 4:58pm local time to a ground collapse on level two of the mine, approximately one mile from the entrance. Three miners were initially reported uncontactable, and two bodies have since been recovered, according to Spanish outlet El Pais.
Asturias President Adrián Barbón suspended his weekend agenda and expressed his 'pain and desperation' on social media. Local football club Real Oviedo paid tribute, stating: 'Asturias weeps. Weeps in black coal.'
The tragedy comes just months after an explosion at the Cerredo mine in Degaña, Asturias, killed five people in March. That blast also injured four others. Mining has been a major industry in Asturias for centuries.
