7 miners trapped in northern Mexico flooded mine
Mexico City, Jun 4 (EFE).- At least seven miners were trapped Friday by flood and the collapse of a mine in the Mexican municipality of Muzquiz, in the northern state of Coahuila, where Civil Protection and the army were dispatched for rescue work.
“I received the information that in Muzquiz, Coahuila, seven workers had been trapped in a mine by the spill of a water dam,” said Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on social media.
The president said the National Guard and the army are at the scene, and that he hoped “the rescue would be favorable for the families and for everyone.”
As previously reported by the Coahuila Ministry of Labor in a statement, the Muzquiz drag mine suffered an accident at about 12.50 pm (17.50 GMT) in which several workers were trapped.
Authorities believe a flood caused the roof and walls of the mine to rupture, causing the site to collapse, where the seven miners were trapped.
In addition, from the military, Civil Protection authorities and inspectors from the Labor Ministry arrived to carry out rescue work, which consists of pumping out the water to gain access to the mine.
Also, relatives of the miners gathered, who prayed near the area to ask for an early rescue.
In coordination with federal authorities, the Coahuila Ministry of Labor promised to carry out all “the necessary steps.”
The accident brings to mind what happened on Feb. 19, 2006, at the Pasta de Conchos mine, also in Coahuila, where 65 workers died in an accident and only two bodies were recovered.
The rest were buried after their rescue was deemed high-risk and their bodies have not been recovered so far. EFE
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