CHILE – All miners who had been trapped in the El Teniente copper mine in Chile were pronounced dead after a collapse was triggered by a seismic event on Thursday.

“Today, at 3.30 pm, we finally found the last missing worker from the El Teniente mine,” said prosecutor Aquiles Cubillos, Chilean newspaper El Mercurio On-Line reported.

This means that no one survived the collapse that occurred on Thursday at the world’s largest copper mine.

The National Copper Corporation of Chile (Codelco), which operates the mine, expressed “heartfelt condolences” to the families of the victims.

The accident occurred in a tunnel within the Andesita project after a 4.2-magnitude seismic event caused by mining activity.

Chile has experienced significant mining disasters, including the 1945 El Teniente accident that killed 355 miners and the 2010 San Jose Mine collapse that trapped 33 workers for 69 days.