3 Rescued in Peru After Gold Mine Cave-In

Three trapped miners were rescued Tuesday and searchers heard faint tapping inside a rundown gold mine where scores of people are believed caught by a cave-in, officials said. Two of the rescued men were hospitalized; the other was not hurt.

The bodies of six miners were recovered Tuesday morning, five days after a fire began in the Sol de Oro gold mine near the city of Nazca, in the desert, 230 miles southeast of Lima.

Officials had earlier said there was little hope of survivors because the fire caused a cave-in near the entrance. Although the mine was recently abandoned by its owners, numerous area residents were said to be mining on their own. Estimates of the number of miners inside ranged from 20 to 200.

Some officials said the disaster was caused by miners who set wooden tunnel supports ablaze for better lighting, but others blamed poor mine maintenance.