At least seven dead and 15 injured in explosion at a Bolivian mine

At least seven people died and 15 others were injured on Wednesday after a dynamite explosion at the mining center of Huanuni in western Bolivia, Interior Minister Carlos Romero announced.

At a press conference, Romero said that "this morning, at the time when the miners were entering to work in the mine ... in Huanuni, a strong explosion occurred, causing the deaths of seven people and various injured, who were transferred to hospitals in the city of Oruro."

The government has sent two teams of investigators to Huanuni, a heavy mining area 288 km southeast of La Paz to find the cause of the explosion.

"The Attorney-General has dispatched personnel to help in the investigations as well as a forensic team to Huanuni to investigate the case of the explosion, we cannot speculate anything," said Romero.

In October 2006, the same mining center saw an armed battle between local cooperative farmers and workers from the state-owned mining corporation, Comibol, which left around 20 dead and dozens injured.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)