Three bodies have been extracted from the coal mine in northern Colombia where 11 miners are still missing since a firedamp strike on Monday that had already claimed the first victim, officials said on Friday.

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A first body was brought up by the rescue teams on Thursday morning, and two others at the end of the day, Gustavo Raad, an official of the National Mines Agency in charge of research, told the press.

On Wednesday, a miner responsible for handling coal wagons entering the mine, and who was outside the sinkhole at the time of the explosion, died of his injuries.

More than 70 rescuers are continuing the search to find the 11 minors still missing, but hopes of finding them alive appear slim.

Jhon Olivares, secretary of mines in the state of Norte de Santander, a department bordering Venezuela where the mine is located in the municipality of El Zulia, explained to AFP that a "large-scale explosion inside the the mine generated a fire” and the emission of a “series of gas” prevented the rescue services from coming into action for “nearly 36 hours”.

According to him, "about 90% of the mine collapsed" making the work of rescuers "complex".

Colombia, the fourth largest economy in Latin America, recorded 148 deaths in mining accidents last year. Oil and mining extractions are the main export products of the country.