A likely methane gas explosion at a coal mine in northeastern Colombia killed at least 20 workers Wednesday and injured six more, officials said. "They've just told me there are 20 dead and six wounded," said Marisa Fernandez of the Ingeominas mining regulator in Norte de Santander province, where the accident occurred. She told Reuters by telephone that the explosion, which happened in the La Preciosa mine in the province's Sardinata municipality, was likely caused by methane gas. Conditions for workers in South America's mines have improved radically in recent decades, and the industry has helped fuel an economic boom in some countries, including Colombia. But there are still many accidents. The explosion Wednesday was the latest in a series of mine accidents in South America, including a collapse in Chile in August that buried 33 workers for weeks until they were rescued. In Colombia, an explosion last June killed about 70 miners, and nine workers were killed at two small coal mines in November.
