After intense search efforts, the police rescue team was able to recover the bodies of the 13 workers who were kidnapped
The bodies of 13 security guards kidnapped from a major Peruvian gold mine just over a week ago were found Sunday, Peru’s Interior Ministry said, their deaths coming as violence escalates in the Andean nation’s crucial mining industry.
The gold mine, La Poderosa, said that a search-and-rescue team recovered the staff members’ remains i the mine on Sunday. The company blamed their abduction on informal miners allegedly linked to criminal gangs that ambushed the gold mine on April 26.
“This morning, after intense search efforts, the police rescue team was able to recover the bodies of the 13 workers who were kidnapped (…) by illegal miners in collusion with criminal elements,” the company said in a statement.
Mining is a key economic driver in Peru, one of the largest gold producers in Latin America.
Pataz, located around 560 miles (900 kilometres) from the capital Lima, is in a state of emergency due to escalating violence caused by a gold rush there.
The victims found Sunday worked for a company that provided services to Poderosa, a major gold mining firm listed on the Lima stock exchange that has in recent months been targeted by armed groups linked to illegal mining.
“The spiral of uncontrolled violence in Pataz is occurring despite the declaration of a state of emergency and the presence of a large police contingent which, unfortunately, has not been able to halt the deterioration of security conditions in the area,” the mining company said.
Peru’s interior ministry said it had deployed organised crime investigators to probe the deaths, warning its agents “are fully empowered to use their firearms if the circumstances warrant it.”
In the city of Trujillo, west of Pataz, some of the victims’ relatives waited for the bodies of their loved ones to be transferred to the morgue there.
“We want justice, that this doesn’t just stop here,” Abraham Dominguez, whose son Alexander was found dead inside the mine, told the Canal N television station.
Peru is experiencing a wave of extortion and violent crime that has led authorities to declare a state of emergency in several parts of the country.
This incident highlights the escalating violence in Peru’s mining industry, particularly in Pataz, which has been plagued by a gold rush and related crimes.
The area has seen several brutal attacks recently, including an explosion at the same mine in December 2023 that killed nine people and injured 15 others. Peru’s Interior Ministry has deployed special police forces to capture those responsible for the killings
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