Dozens feared dead in Venezuela gold mine collapse as more than 100 workers are trapped in 114ft illegal pit

Dozens are feared dead in Venezuela gold mine collapse as more than 100 workers are trapped in 114ft illegal pit run by gangsters​

• Dozens of miners remain trapped in the remote Amazon region
• Venezuela’s socialist regime has increasingly relied on gold mined in Bolivar state to cover its expenditures and get around US sanctions on its oil industry
• The regime has been accused of allowing criminal gangs to run free in order to profit from the unsanctioned mines

At least 30 Venezuelans are feared dead after an unsanctioned 114-feet-deep gold mine collapsed, trapping over 100 men inside.

The wall of the open illegal gold mine, named Bulla Loca, collapsed on Tuesday, sparking a frantic rescue effort in the remote town of La Paragua, near the Venezuelan Amazon in Bolivar state.

Dozens of miners remain trapped as of Wednesday, with rescue teams dispatched to the remote area, mayor Yorgi Arciniega told told CNN en Espanol.

Arciniega said late Tuesday that he planned to take 'some 30 caskets' to a community near the mine, indicating that officials feared the death toll could rise into the dozens.

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