Rescued Chile miner loses home in floods
Rescued Chile miner loses home in floods
Published on Mar 29, 2015 3:14 AM
SANTIAGO (AFP) - One of the Chilean miners who captured worldwide attention in 2010 after spending more than two months in a collapsed mine has lost everything after torrential rains struck northern Chile.
Victor Zamora is one of 33 men who were thrust into the international spotlight when they became trapped deep underground after a collapse at the San Jose copper mine in the Atacama desert. Zamora's house was washed away early Tuesday along with most other structures in his small mining village, located near the town of Copiapo, about 800km north of Santiago.
"This is another tragedy, we have lost everything," Zamora told AFP, speaking from the town of Tierra Amarilla.
The rare floods in the normally parched region have left at least 10 dead, 19 missing and hundreds of people homeless. The interior ministry has declared a state of emergency and invoked a constitutional clause transferring power from the regional government to the military.
Zamora said the waters came at around 3am when everyone was asleep. He was only able to get away with the few items he had with him.
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