Mudslide Traps Three Workers at Chile's El Teniente Mine
A mudslide struck the open-pit sector of Codelco's El Teniente copper mine, in Machalí, in Chile's O'Higgins Region, around 2 p.m. local time Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, a Carabineros police prefect, Fernando Acevedo, told La Tercera. Three workers were trapped. One was rescued and taken to a medical facility, and crews were working to free the other two, who had been located, Codelco, the state copper company, said. Authorities had not confirmed any fatalities as of Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, La Tercera reported.
The three were inspecting the area between the mine's North and South pits in a pickup truck when the mudslide hit, Amador Pantoja, a council member of the copper workers' union federation FTC, told La Tercera. Chile's prosecutors ordered a police tactical unit and the investigative police's homicide brigade to the mine to begin establishing what happened, and personnel from the national geology and mining service, Sernageomin, also went to the site, Acevedo said.
El Teniente, about 100 kilometers south of Santiago, is the world's largest underground copper deposit, Infobae reported. A separate 2025 collapse in the mine's Andesita sector followed an M4.2 earthquake at a depth of about 500 meters and killed six contractor workers, one from Salfa Montajes and five from Gardilcic, injuring nine, Infobae reported.
The mudslide happened as central Chile saw heavy rain and thunderstorms, Infobae reported. Codelco attributed the mudslide to the weather conditions affecting the region amid the effects of El Niño.
