An illegal gold mine collapse in southwest Colombia has killed at least 14 people and injured seven more, in the second deadly mine disaster to strike the province of Nariño in under three months. Authorities said search and rescue operations at the site concluded late Monday, October 19, 2026.
The open-pit mine was operating with no permits in the rural Chambero sector of Santa Barbara de Iscuande municipality, a remote corner of Nariño reachable only by boat or small aircraft. About 30 people were carrying out gold-mining activities at the site when the pit caved in, according to local reports.
What happened in El Chambero
The collapse occurred Monday at an informal mine in El Chambero, where dense rainforest surrounds the worksite and access roads do not exist. Nariño Governor Luis Alfonso Escobar confirmed the toll on X, calling the mine "informal" and writing: "At this moment our priority is to save lives, accompany families and guarantee an opportune response to this painful tragedy."
Earlier reports had suggested 12 to 15 miners were still missing, but disaster response officials later revised the toll to 14 dead with operations concluded. Seven miners were pulled out injured.
Rescue reached a site only boats could find
Santa Barbara de Iscuande sits deep in southwestern Colombia's rainforest belt, and the isolation complicated the response. Colombia's Ombudsman's Office requested military air support, activation of the hospital network, and the dispatch of the Benkos Biojó hospital ship from the port town of Guapi.
The agency also warned that armed-group presence in the area could hinder rescue work. Two rebel groups operate in the zone, including the Jacobo Arenas Block — former FARC fighters who refused the 2016 peace deal — and locals have reported selective killings by armed groups over suspected gold theft or collaboration.
A province in mourning — twice
The Nariño government said the two collapsed mines in the province have together killed 27 people in less than three months. In August 2026, 13 people died in a similar collapse at a mine in Policarpa, also in Nariño.
"Entire families have been killed in this regrettable accident. It is very sad," Governor Escobar said. He called on the national government, the National Mining Agency, and the Ministry of Mines and Energy to accelerate the formalization of illegal and small-scale miners.
The illegal mining crisis behind the tragedy
Colombia's unregulated gold sector has grown into one of the country's most dangerous industries. An October report from the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the UNODC found 118,410 hectares of land showing evidence of alluvial gold mining in 2025, with 75% linked to illicit or unauthorized operations — and illegal armed groups present in 85.6% of affected municipalities.
Hundreds of small mines in the region operate without permits, some controlled by rebel groups that profit from the trade. The collapse in El Chambero is the latest reminder that, for the miners at the bottom of the chain, the gold rush is paid for in lives.
The bottom line: With 27 dead in two collapses in one province since August, Colombia's informal mining economy faces its deadliest season in recent memory — and Governor Escobar's call for faster formalization now lands as an urgent demand rather than a long-term plan.
Watch: Al Jazeera English video report on the Nariño mine collapse — search efforts halted after the illegal gold mine caved in, leaving 14 dead and several injured in the remote rainforest region.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Hitman (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sources: Al Jazeera; The New Indian Express (AFP); Reuters via Geo News