Blast at Colombian coal mine kills 16

An explosion at a coal mine in Colombia has killed 16 people, with dozens of miners still trapped, the country’s president said today.

President Alvaro Uribe said initial indications were that an accumulation of methane gas caused the blast in the San Fernando mine in his home province of Antioquia, about 150 miles north-west of the capital Bogota.

Officials said the explosion last night caused the collapse of an access tunnel that is 6,500 feet long and drops to a depth of 500 feet.