LA PARAGUA, Venezuela — Families and friends began burying loved ones on Thursday who were among at least 16 people killed in the collapse of an illegally operated gold mine in a remote area of central Venezuela.
The tributes come as anger mounts at the government’s slow response helping the injured and recovering bodies from Tuesday’s accident - one of the worst in a poorly regulated mining industry that has soared as the OPEC nation’s oil production dwindled.
As mourners filled the cemetery in La Paragua, the community closest to the remote mine, dozens of residents gathered outside a restaurant where they believed the state’s governor was dining. The group demanded to speak with Ángel Marcano, an ally of President Nicolás Maduro, and at one point, banged on a sport utility vehicle parked outside. Intelligence service agents with assault weapons and police responded to the scene.
“It’s a vile lie,” yelled Yulimar Soto, referring to the death count announced by officials. “We are asking for help, from the gringos, from anyone, from the Russians, from anyone. I don’t know who to contact. Please do something for us.”
Officials overnight said that in addition to the deaths, 16 people were injured in the collapse of the remote Bulla Loca mine, which had been in operation for only a few months.
William Nadales was working with at least 50 other miners when a clay-colored torrent of mud collapsed, burying several of his colleagues, including his 22-year old nephew, Gerson Leal.
PHOTOS: Families bid farewell to miners killed in Venezuela's worst mining accident in years
“My nephew used to work in a plantain field and went to the mine in hopes of buying a motorcycle,” Nadales said, recounting how he had to transport his nephew’s body overnight six hours by boat to La Paragua for his burial. “The pit killed him. I had to pull him out.”
Marcano told reporters that all 16 bodies have been turned over to relatives, dismissing fears of a much higher death toll as “rumors.” He acknowledged however that there was no exact tally of workers since the mine operated illegally.
Several relatives, neighbors and friends, wailed as the casket of 24-year-old miner Santiago Mora was lowered into the ground. “We are going to miss you so much,” they screamed after placing flowers on the duck-taped wooden casket.
Venezuela’s government in 2016 established a huge mining development zone stretching across the central area of the country, to supplement flagging revenue from its dominant oil industry, which has seen production decline to near its lowest levels in decades as a result of mismanagement, corruption and, more recently, U.S. sanctions.
Since then, mining operations for gold, diamonds, copper and other minerals have proliferated. Many are wildcat mines, operating on the margins of the law.
Despite brutal conditions and the presence of criminal gangs, ordinary Venezuelans continue to flock to mining centers in hopes of getting rich quick and escaping crushing poverty in urban centers, from where more than 8 million Venezuelans emigrated in recent years.
Alicia Ledezma, a representative of the Indigenous community where the mine is located, said all injured miners had been evacuated as of Thursday night but that as many as 20 individuals could be buried under the lode and presumed dead.
People gathered at the local airport in La Paragua to witness the departure and arrival of military helicopters traveling to and from the mine. One helicopter was loaded with bags, vinegar and lime as word spread that the bodies of dead miners were already decomposing in the sweltering equatorial heat.
“We went there because we are in need,” said Soto, whose sons, other relatives and friends traveled from La Paragua to work in the mine. “It is a very small town, and there are no resources here.”
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