At Least 27 Dead in Peru Gold Mine Fire

On Sunday, authorities confirmed that a fire in a gold mine in a remote area of Peru had killed at least 27 people.

The accident occurred in a tunnel inside the La Esperanza mine, located in the southern region of Arequipa.

Police and the Public Prosecution Service said an electrical short circuit was believed to have caused the fire, which broke out on Saturday.

Prosecutor Giovanni Matos told Peruvian channel N TV that "27 dead inside the mine."

"We have to make the place where the dead are safe so we can enter it and recover the bodies," Matos said.

According to the Peruvian newspaper La Repubblica, two people were rescued from the accident.

Pictures on social media published by La Repubblica newspaper showed a plume of smoke billowing from the mine.

The mine is operated by the small mining company Yanaquihua, and the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Reuters news agency.

Peru is among the world's largest gold producers, and according to data from the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines, the La Esperanza accident is the deadliest mining accident since 2000.