This August 23 marks 20 days, or 471 hours, since 10 coal miners were trapped in the El Pinabete well, in Sabinas, Coahuila. Despite the tireless work of members of the three levels of government, the achievements have been few and the desperation of the relatives great.
Even despite the prayers that have been dedicated to them, day after day the loved ones of the miners have begun to resign themselves to never seeing them alive again.
Since the accident, the relatives have remained in the area where work is carried out 24 hours a day. In addition to pumping the water, cement has been injected into the Conchas Norte mine to prevent the flow of water to El Pinabete.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) himself confessed in the morning conference on Monday that the rescue had not been possible, again, because on this occasion a new hole was opened in the neighboring mine.
“Unfortunately we still haven’t been able to rescue the miners from Sabinas, Coahuila. Progress was already being made, but it was unlucky that another hole opened in the neighboring mine, which is flooded, and the water levels rose again,” he said.
He added that at the request of the relatives, the opinion of specialists from Germany and the United States has been requested, who have agreed that the work carried out by Sedena, the National Guard, CFE, and Conagua, among other agencies, is correct and that they will work at a slow pace because it is a “complicated matter”.
Although according to the Government the relatives of the miners, with whom they speak twice a day, are calm when they see the work being carried out in the area, one of those affected told El Universal that her “heart is broken” when she thinks that possibly her relative has already died.
“My heart is broken, sometimes I can’t cry anymore. It would be a miracle if they were alive because simply who is going to survive? Maybe without eating, yes, but without water, how is he going to survive and with that slowness, less? My fear is that they will leave them there,” said a woman named Magdalena Montelongo.
On August 23, the day on which 20 days are fulfilled, Velázquez Alzúa will give his update again; however, the chances of him reporting that the 10 miners have already been rescued are low.
There has been no communication with the miners since the accident and cameras lowered into the mine have not captured video of the ten miners to provide any hope that they will be found alive, but until evidence otherwise, the families can only have hope.
