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CatastropheMexico

Mexico vows to rescue trapped coal miners

August 4, 2022

Mexico's president says authorities will work nonstop to save 10 coal miners trapped in the northern state of Coahuila. Rescuers are pumping out water from the flooded mine in a time-critical operation.

https://p.dw.com/p/4F8m3
Mexican rescuers stand next to a mine shaft of the coal mine in Coahuila that collapsed
The mine in Coahuila had no existing safety complaints prior to the collapseImage: Antonio Ojeda/REUTERS

The Mexican government on Thursday ramped up its efforts to rescue 10 miners trapped in a flooded coal mine in the northern state of Coahuila.

The mine collapsed on Wednesday, when the miners entered a neighboring area filled with water. Undersecretary of Defense Agustin Radiala Suastegui said the miners are stuck in 200-foot (61-meter) shafts that are half flooded.

Mexico's AMLO: 'We must not lose faith'

"With all my soul, I want us to rescue the miners," Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) said in a news briefing. "We must not lose faith. We must not lose hope."

Laura Velasquez, the head of Mexico's civil protection agency, said during the news conference that hundreds of local and federal officials are responding to the crisis. 

Rescuers race to save trapped miners in northern Mexico
Several people have managed to escape, as authorities rush to save the restImage: Marcos Gonzalez/AFP

"We haven't slept — we're working day and night. Time is key," Velasquez said. She said five people had managed to escape the mine and were receiving medical treatment.  

Authorities pumping out water in time-critical operation

Velasquez said "time is crucial" in rescuing the miners.

"To get to the miners, we have to go down three shafts," she said. "It's complicated, but we've been managing to do it, pumping out water ... to rescue the miners as soon as possible."  

Mexico's Labor Ministry said the mine had no existing safety complaints. The mine began operation in January of this year.

Mining tragedies not uncommon in Coahuila

It's not the first time a mine has collapsed in Coahuila.

In June and July 2021, cave-ins at two Coahuila mines resulted in nine lives being lost.

The deadliest incident in the state occurred in February 2006, when a methane explosion killed 65 people at the Pasta de Conchos mine. So far, only two bodies have been recovered by authorities since the disaster.

wd/nm (AP, AFP, Reuters)