Venezuela probes gold miners' disappearance in Bolivar state
Source: BBC
Venezuelan officials are investigating the disappearance of up to 28 miners from the southern state of Bolivar.
Their relatives said they did not return from work on Friday evening.
They fear they may have been killed by a gang trying to take control of a wildcat mine near the town of Tumeremo.
But the governor of Bolivar state said soldiers sent to the scene had found no evidence of a massacre. He accused local politicians of trying to stir up unrest in the remote region.
Venezuela's public prosecutor said two investigators had been sent to Tumeremo to investigate the incident.
'Fight over gold'
The missing worked at the Atenas gold mine. Reports of their disappearance first emerged on Saturday when worried relatives reported that their loved ones had not returned from work.
The number of missing miners soon grew from two to 28.
The families blocked a road in Tumeremo to demand the disappearance be investigated. With tempers running high at the roadblock, reports soon spread about a deadly stand-off at the mine.
Local media quoted "eyewitnesses" who said the discovery of a significant gold deposit had pitched the miners against members of a gang who wanted to lay their hands on the lucrative find.
The gang members allegedly opened fire on the miners and later forced the survivors to load the bodies onto a lorry.
There are conflicting reports as to where the bodies were taken, with some locals saying they were driven further into the mine and others alleging they were dismembered and disposed of on land belonging to the gang leader.
'Rumours'
Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35744130
Well, looks like Venezuela now has its own version of Mexico's 43 Normalistas case. The question is, since it happened under a very authoritarian leftist government, will the resident Chavista sympathizers of this site care as much?
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