AGUJITA, Mexico — Rescuers hope to enter a flooded coal mine in northern
Mexico soon to
search for 10 workers who have been trapped for a week, authorities said
Wednesday.
اضافة اعلان
“We are very close
to being able to enter,” civil defense national coordinator Laura Velazquez
said.
“All rescuers have
the necessary equipment to be able to enter at any time, hopefully today,” she
told reporters in Mexico City by video link.
Hundreds of soldiers
and other rescuers using 25 pumps and two underwater drones are taking part in
the operation in Agujita in the northern state of Coahuila.
The focus so far
has been on pumping out water from the 60m deep, crudely constructed mine.
The water in the
shafts has fallen significantly, from more than 30m initially, but needs to be
reduced by several more meters before it is safe to enter, Velazquez said.
News that rescuers
were preparing to go inside the mine was met with a cautious welcome by anxious
relatives.
“Let’s hope that
now it’s true. Every day they say the same thing,” said Juan Orlando Mireles,
whose father is among the missing.
According to
authorities, the miners were carrying out excavation work when they hit an
adjoining mine full of water.
Five workers
managed to escape in the initial aftermath of the accident on August 3, but
there has been no contact with the others.
Coahuila, Mexico’s
main coal-producing region, has seen a series of fatal mining incidents over
the years.
The worst accident
was an explosion that claimed 65 lives at the Pasta de Conchos mine in 2006.
Last year, seven
miners died when they were trapped in the region.
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