An armed raiding party carrying explosives has stormed an emerald mine in Colombia and taken 50 workers hostage.
The Esmereldas Santa mining company announced their workers were being held against their will after a group of "heavily armed men" stormed the underground facility in Maripi, Boyaca.
They released a statement on Twitter about the incident.
It read: "Heavily armed and apparently with explosives, they illegally broke into our company's facilities, in the municipality of Maripí, in western Boyacá, and subdued the guards who provide security for our workers."
The guards were stripped of their weapons and taken into the tunnels, where they are now being held hostage.
"(They entered) the work fronts of the deepest levels of the mining operation, forcibly detaining more than 50 of our workers ," they added.
Police are said to be on site, "coordinating actions to achieve the release of the workers".
The company has asked the loved ones of the workers trapped to remain calm.
The statement went on: "Immediately, we activated our security protocols and notified the authorities and the municipal administration, prioritizing at all times the protection of the lives of our workers and security guards.
"The National Police and the National Army are already in place and are coordinating the actions to follow."
Just last month, another crisis struck at a major mine network int he country.
Rescuers desperately tried to reach 10 men left trapped undergroung after a powerful explosion tore through a series of five rural coal mines interconnected by tunnels and ventilation systems.
At least 11 people were killed and 10 were reported missing.
Nine other miners who got out of the complex after the blast were taken for medical examinations, and three were still being treated Wednesday evening, officials said.
The blast, which was attributed to a build-up of methane gas, happened at the end of March in Sutatausa, a municipality in Cundinamarca department about 75 miles (45 miles) from the capital, Bogota.
