In Abriaquí, Antioquia, search work is reactivated this Friday: two miners are still missing

Yesterday, a strong avalanche destroyed 12 lives in the municipality of Abriaquí, Antioquia, as a result of the heavy rains that have occurred in the department and the geographical conditions of the mine that was affected. Despite the fact that the relief agencies and the Administrative Department of Risk Management — Antioquia, (Dagran), tried to strengthen the points for rescue, the operation was suspended due to the weather conditions that continue to affect the place, and which, without a doubt, put both the missing and the bodies themselves at risk of attention.

So far there are two people who are still missing, because the avalanche left no trace of them after its sudden passage. The argument for suspending rescue operations comes from the Dagran, because according to W Radio, they claim that there is a warning for a possible emergency that may further complicate these tasks, which is why, from the Unified Command Post, installed to command this operation, orders were ordered to suspend until further notice the operations.

As was able to establish W Radio, Jorge Enrique Gómez, director of the Dagran, said that 22 members of the rescue teams participate in the operation, who have joined efforts to find the two people who have not yet appeared, for their part, the President of the Republic, Iván Duque, indicated that through the National Unit of Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), support will be constant in the search for missing persons.

This emergency is the result of the overflow of the La Mina ravine, next to the El Porvenir camp in Abriaquí. Some inhabitants indicate that they gradually saw the level of this small river rise, which, with the passing of time, became larger. The tragedy came around 6:30 in the afternoon of last Wednesday, April 6, when several miners left their workplace on duty.

According to the first testimonies, the victims were those workers who were still getting their backpacks ready to go home. However, the unexpected avalanche struck with all their might in the area where the mining camp was located, wiping out the operators, immediately and amid despair, screams and pain. , more than 200 people from the municipalities of Abriaquí and Frontino, went to the scene to try to rescue as many people as possible, as El Colombiano was able to establish.

Today, the search is expected to continue to find the whereabouts of Eliezer Ortiz and Jesús Cruz. The altruism of the residents of this region led them to perform a utopian task; walking several kilometers to the place of the tragedy and even risking their lives by passing through narrow areas and the pressure of the crewed ravine lowered.

It is important to keep in mind that the emergency zone is in the middle of the mountains, as this region has different geological faults that have even complicated rescue work, and constantly alert the same community to weather emergencies.

The director of the National Unit for Risk and Disaster Management (UNGRD), Eduardo José González, regretted what happened in Abriaquí and gave a general report on the winter season in the country, noting: “We are in the first rainy season that began since mid-March and today we have a balance of 202 events registered in the country, 131 municipalities affected in 17 departments. We have 3,299 families affected so far.” It should be noted that, according to Ideam, rains will continue until the end of May, which will predominate in the Andean and Pacific region, which is why the community is urged to be alert to any unusual development of aquatic bodies and the displacement of mountain areas.

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