The flooding of a coal mine in the state of Coahuila, Mexico, has left at least nine miners trapped underground this Wednesday, according to the country's Civil Protection authorities.
One of the miners who was inside managed to escape through one of the tunnels towards the mouth of another old nearby mine and asked for help, after the well in which they were working almost 60 meters deep suddenly flooded.
Authorities believe that the flooding could have been caused by a leak from the Sabinas River, which is close to the mine, although investigations have only just begun, the newspaper Milenio reported.
A helmet in front of the mouth of a coal mine in Sabina, Coahuila, where nine miners were trapped after a flash flood, on August 3, 2022.Millennium
Rescue teams went to the area, where relatives of the trapped miners also arrived to demand that the authorities speed up the rescue work, according to the aforementioned media.
Firefighters teams were working this afternoon to drain the water with pressure pumps, but relatives expressed their concern to the media at the mine entrance that the power of their equipment was not enough to remove the amount of water necessary to open go to the rescue teams.
The president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, reported that his government is aware of the situation and is working to remove the miners with the help of the military and rescue dogs.
"We hope to find them safe,"
he added in a brief message on the social network Twitter.
The accident occurred in the community of Las Agujitas, which is located within the coal zone of the state, and where there have been several fatal accidents in mining operations, which often do not have the corresponding work permits.
In June of last year, seven miners died in the flooding of a coal mine in Múzquiz, Coahuila.
Authorities took several weeks to recover the bodies trapped almost 100 meters deep.
There were no survivors.
In February 2006, 65 miners died in Pasta de Conchos, Coahuila, after being buried in a landslide.
Only two of the bodies were returned to their families.
