Plea for heavy machinery as rescuers resort to pickaxes and shovels to reopen tunnel that collapsed during blasting

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

Peru's government has appealed to mining companies for heavy equipment and experts to help free nine miners trapped for four days in a copper mine.

Several dozen rescue workers have been using pickaxes and shovels to try to remove the eight metres of collapsed earth and rock blocking the entrance of the mine, a horizontal shaft dug into a mountainside 175 miles (280km) south-east of Lima.

Firefighters have fashioned wooden beams to support the debris removal but their relatively crude efforts prompted the mining minister, Jorge Merino, to appeal for help from mining companies.

Thursday's collapse followed a blast set by the miners themselves in a mine last exploited commercially in the 1980s.

Through a hose, rescuers have been able to communicate with the trapped miners and provide them with liquid sustenance. The local police chief, Jose Saavedra, told the Associated Press that several tonnes of earth and rock had already been removed from the tunnel's mouth.

Officials worry that some could suffer from exposure though none appear to be hurt. "They're being subjected to a lot of cold," said the prime minister, Oscar Valdes.

Valdes said he estimated the miners would be freed in two to three days and he had spoken to the men.

Other miners arrived on Sunday evening from two nearby workings to help dig out their compatriots, authorities said.

The appearance of Valdes and Merino at the Cabeza de Negro mine 1,347 metres above sea level highlighted what some consider the government's lack of preparation for such an accident. Peru "doesn't have a specialist team for mining rescues", said Jose de Echave, a former deputy environment minister.

Mining is the main engine of Peru's economy, accounting for more than 60% of its exports. It is the world's number two copper exporter after neighboring Chile and ranks sixth in gold exports.

According to official figures 52 miners died in Peru last year in work-related accidents, a third of them in mine shaft collapses.