Shovel load by shovel load, rescuers were on Monday inching towards 65 miners trapped inside a coal mine in northern Mexico. As hope of finding their loved ones alive faded, relatives waiting for news outside were left praying for divine intervention.
The men were trapped early on Sunday after an underground explosion, apparently caused by a build-up of gas, led to the collapse of several shafts. About a dozen miners working near the surface managed to get out of the mine. Seven were taken to hospital with burns and broken bones.
Fear of further explosions precluded the use of machinery to help clear the debris and forced rescuers to rely on rudimentary — and slow — alternatives, including their hands. Working in four-hour shifts, rescue teams emerged from the mine looking exhausted, the dirt on their faces only partially hiding their sombre expressions.
After more than 30 hours of digging, officials said the teams had advanced about 400m. The director of the emergency operation, Sergio Robles, said the miners were thought to be within about 100m of where two conveyor-belt workers were trapped. But it was still more than a kilometre from the rest of the men.
Robles said the speed of the advance should increase as rescuers reached shafts further into the mine where the roofs were better secured. Asked about the chances of finding survivors, he said: ”It would be difficult because of the presence of gas. But we are holding out hope of finding someone alive.”
Optimism focused on the fact that the mine’s ventilators were still working, pumping fresh air in and sucking out dangerous gases. Officials said each miner carried a tank of compressed air capable of sustaining him for six hours. Similar tanks were distributed throughout the mine, which is owned by the Group Mexico conglomerate, best known as the world’s third-largest copper producer.
Above ground, relatives and friends told reporters they were pinning their hopes on a miracle. Many comforted each other with hugs and prayers led by Catholic priests and Protestant pastors with microphones. Circles formed of people swaying and moaning with arms raised, lost in the anguish of the wait.
A single relative of each trapped miner was allowed into the installations of the mine, which is located in the windswept desert near the town of San Juan de Sabina, about 130km from the Mexico-United States border in the state of Coahuila. The rest of the relatives were kept outside the gates by an army cordon. As evening closed in, they prepared for a second long, cold night huddled under blankets and around bonfires waiting for news.
”There is no way of communicating with the trapped miners,” the Governor of Coahuila state, Humberto Moreira, told reporters. ”All we can do is wait for the results from the rescue teams.”
Some relatives accused the management of the mine of having a cavalier attitude to safety. Juan Rebolledo, the company’s vice-president of international affairs, said all local and international safety conditions were met. ”Accidents can always happen,” he said. The miners were said to earn about £45 a week.
By evening, the authorities had reportedly erected barriers obscuring the view of the mouth of the mine, prompting speculation that the accident was about to reveal tragic consequences. — Guardian Unlimited Â