The bodies of the 27 workers who went missing over the weekend when a fire broke out in the bowels of a gold mine in southern Peru’s Arequipa region have been recovered, authorities announced Monday.

The fire, which is believed to have been followed by an explosion, occurred on Saturday at a depth of 100 meters from the surface. Police could not confirm the number of victims until Sunday.

It is the worst mine tragedy in decades in Peru, Latin America’s top gold producer.

It is believed to have been caused by a short circuit and most of the workers either died of suffocation or were burned, according to James Casquino, the mayor of Yanakiua, where the La Esperanza gold mine is located.

“It was possible to retrieve the bodies of the 27 workers,” he told the RPP radio station on Monday.

On Sunday night, rescue crews managed to recover twelve bodies, but the operation had to be stopped due to the concentration of toxic gases, explained Mr. Kaskino.

The company Minera Yanaquihua, which operates the gold mine, is a small and medium-sized company that has been active in gold mining in Arequipa since 2000. In a statement published on its website, it said that 175 workers were safely released from the gold mine after the accident.

The mining and quarrying sector is an important pillar of Peru’s economy, contributing 8.3% of GDP.

Peru ranks second in the world in terms of copper, silver and zinc production, and is the largest producer of gold, zinc, lead, tin and molybdenum in Latin America, according to official statistics.

In 2022, 39 people died in mining accidents, according to data from the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Mines.