Cotuí, Dominican Republic. - Although initial reports said a boiler had exploded on Sunday and led to the intoxication of the mine’s workers, by Monday afternoon (yesterday) Barrick Gold’s local operation had confirmed that at least 300 employees became ill from food poisoning, and that they use the cafeteria services of the company Sodexo.

FILE.- More than 1,000 workers of the mining company Barrick Gold who were preparing to exploit a gold deposit in the northeast village Pueblo Viejo, Cotuí, were today intoxicated by inhaling an as yet unspecified chemical substance, possibly a case of food poisoning.

Initial reports describe an explosion of a boiler as the source of the chemical.

The victims were taken to nearby clinics and a public hospital in Cotuí, whereas others were transferred to the towns San Francisco, Bonao, Santiago, La Vega and Maimón.

Many of the doctors and paramedics who attend the victims had to wear masks as the result of agent’s extreme toxicity, as Emergency Operations Center (COE) director Juan Manuel Méndez confirmed the reports.

The workers reportedly began to feel woozy, headaches and other symptoms including vomiting and one miner said the number of injured may rise.

The doctors said some of the affected are in guarded but not life-threatening condition.

One of the workers taken to a clinic in Cotuí said a loud explosion was heard in the company and that many people near the area suddenly began to feel faint, headaches even became unconscious.

“Public Health should urgently send help to Cotuí and other towns because people will die if not attended adequately,” said Doctor José Miguel de Peña by telephone on the morning radio program Z101 FM.

Other reports affirm that the workers were affected by food poisoning in the mine’s cafeteria.

Barrick Gold executive denies incident

Although executives of the gold mining company haven’t informed on the possible causes of the incident, news source elnacional.com.do reported that the head of Pueblo Viejo Dominicana Corporation, Fernando Sanchez Albavera denied the poisoning of the workers. “In no way, nothing has happened with the workers of the company.”