About 27 miners may have died in a gold mine accident in the city of Arequipa, Peru on May 7.
Scene of the incident
Arequipa city authorities said the death toll had not been confirmed "because there was no way to contact the mine by phone.", while not ruling out the possibility of a fire in the mine.
Local media and social media posted images showing columns of black smoke rising from the scene.
The gold mine is operated by the small-scale Yanaquihua company, which has not yet provided any information about the incident.
Peru is South America's leading gold miner and exporter. Mining is a major industry in Peru. Dozens of fatal accidents, mostly in small mines, occur each year.
According to VOV