Colombia is filing charges against a U.S. mining company over the death of two workers, alleging violations of workplace safety standards, officials said Wednesday.

The two men working for Alabama-based Drummond in northern Colombia died in March while soldering inside a machine called a pneumatic vibrator. They were crushed by a load of coal.

The Labor Ministry said the American company's facilities where the deaths occurred lacked proper safety controls and equipment to ensure workers' well-being.

Drummond is the second largest coal producer in Colombia.

The company now has several weeks to respond to the charges, the ministry said.