2 dead, 17 miners missing following Peru earthquake

An earthquake in Peru on Sunday has claimed two lives and caused an illegal mine to collapse.

The epicentre of the magnitude 7.1 quake was in the southern region of Arequipa, offshore from the town of Lomas, at a depth of around 36 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.

Governor Yamila Osoria tweeted that the earthquake caused damage to buildings, including adobe houses, and caused roads to collapse. Several towns are without power. An initial warning of a tsunami for Peru and Chile did not materialize, ABC News reported. Two people were killed including a man crushed by a rock in Yauca, and a second death in the town of Bella Union.

Seventeen miners have been reported missing after the collapse of an illegal mine east of the coastal city of Chala, according to media reports. No further details about the mine or the missing were available by press time.

Sunday Express reported that many of Peru’s mines – the nation is the world’s second largest copper producer – are far inland from the quake’s epicentre. It said there was no damage reported from Southern Copper Corp (NYSE:SCCO) at its Cuajone and Toquepala mines in the regions of Moguegua and Tacna, nor at Freeport-McMoRan’s (NYSE:FCX) Cerro Verde mine in Arequipa.