Sri Lanka, May 5 -- The bodies of 13 workers at a major Peruvian gold mine were found yesterday (4), a week after the men were kidnapped, as the South American country grapples with a surge in illegal mining and criminal violence.

Poderosa, the Peruvian company that owns and operates the mine in the northwestern city of Pataz, confirmed the deaths of the guards after a police search and rescue unit recovered their bodies.

Analysts have estimated that illegal mining in the country was worth more than 6 billion dollars last year.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Hiru News....