A gold mine operating without permits collapsed Monday morning in Colombia, killing 14 people and injuring seven others, authorities said.

The collapsed mine was in Santa Bárbara de Iscuandé, a remote town in Colombia’s southwestern Nariño region. The governor’s office confirmed the deaths in a statement, and Gov. Luis Alfonso Escobar said the search and rescue operation had been called off.

It was unclear who owned the mine, or how many people were inside when it collapsed.

In August, another mine collapsed in Policarpa, a town in Nariño about 65 miles southeast of Santa Barbara, killing 13 people and injuring four others, according to local media.

Small-scale mining operations have sprung up in Colombia, fueled by the rising global price of gold, which surpassed $5,000 an ounce this year. Many are unlicensed, and some are controlled by criminals, cartels and armed rebel groups. A New York Times investigation found that the U.S. Mint had bought gold that originated from a mine in the country’s northwest operated by a Colombian drug cartel under Treasury Department sanctions.

In a statement Monday, the Colombian ombudsman’s office called for armed groups around Nariño to guarantee safe access for emergency workers and humanitarian aid to reach Santa Bárbara.

The authorities in Nariño did not specify the victims’ ages or genders.

“There are entire families who have lost their lives in this regrettable event, which fills us with great sorrow,” Escobar said.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Francesca Regalado/Federico Rios
c. 2026 The New York Times Company