Rescue teams will work non-stop to free 10 miners trapped in a flooded coal mine in Mexico’s northern border state of Coahuila, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday.
The miners became trapped on Wednesday after three wells at the mine overflowed, causing an inner wall to collapse.
“With all my soul, I want us to rescue the miners,” Lopez Obrador told a regular news conference.
Five others were able to escape received medical treatment, and two of them have been discharged from a public clinic, Laura Velazquez, head of Mexico’s civil protection agency, said.
Several hundred local and federal officials were responding to the accident, according to authorities, underscoring a “firm commitment” to rescuing the trapped miners, which requires pumping wells to send rescue teams down to the mines.
“We haven’t slept, we’re working day and night … Time is key,” she said in a video at the president’s news conference.
Lopez Obrador added investigations into those responsible for the mine’s safety would come only after the rescue effort.
“We’ll leave all of that for later … we’re going to try to save the miners,” he said.
According to the Labor Ministry, the mine, which began operations in January, had no existing safety complaints.
In one of Mexico’s worst mining disasters, at a coal mine in Coahuila in 2006, 65 men were killed with only two bodies ever recovered. Lopez Obrador has vowed to find the bodies of the other victims. The technically complex work is expected to last through 2024.
Subscribe here for just .08 cents per day to read subscriber content, join the PVDN newsletter, and browse with site ad-free. Support local news.
Trending news on PVDN
- Puerto Vallarta or Cancun? Security issues in Acapulco and Cancún could attract tourists to Puerto Vallarta as a safer alternative The unfortunate situation of violence and insecurity that exists in tourist destinations such as Acapulco or Cancun, where executions or disputes between taxi drivers and Uber, respectively, are taking place, could attract more tourism to Puerto Vallarta, answering the question: Puerto Vallarta or Cancun?
- Crocodile captured in Puerto Vallarta at Parque Lineal Elements of the Municipal Government’s Environment Department captured an adult crocodile approximately 2.63 meters long, in Linear Park, near the Ex Haciendas del Pitillal, this Wednesday. The specimen is marked with the number 530 and was relocated to the El Salado estuary. This happens in the commemoration of the Day of the Biologist, professionals who…
- Puerto Vallarta Malecón will be repaired due to damage caused by high waves In a regular session of the Tourism and Economic Development Commission in cooperation with the Environment and Public Services Commissions, the opinion derived from a building agreement initiative was approved this Wednesday to carry out the repair of the Puerto Vallarta Malecón, due to the damage it suffered as a result of the high waves.…
- Mexico’s most dangerous volcano reported 120 exhalations in the past day The Popocatépetl volcano reported 120 exhalations in the last day, according to daily monitoring carried out by the National Center for Disaster Prevention (Cenapred) together with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
- Puerto Vallarta recognizes heroic action of policeman who saved tourist from drowning Officer Alejandro Abarca Álvarez, a tourist area policeman, who on January 15 saved the life of a tourist from Guadalajara after being swept away by ocean currents, was recognized for his heroic actions. The rescue was registered at around 5:00 pm at Camarones Beach next to the Rosita Hotel and according to the report of…
