Authorities in the Mexican state of Coahuila announced Thursday that 148,000 cubic meters of water have so far been extracted from the coal mine where 10 miners have been trapped since August 3, the newspaper Milenio reported.
The presence of water and mud has been the main obstacle in the progress of the rescue tasks and what forced the operation to be paralyzed on Wednesday.
Divers from the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena) carried out a series of exploratory maneuvers for more than three hours in order to start the mission, but determined that there were too many obstacles.
According to Milenio, during that reconnaissance they found a helmet and mining tools.
Strategies for the rescue of miners in Coahuila change after the entry of a diver
Aug. 11, 202200:35
The National Civil Protection Coordination reported on its side that the bottom of one of the wells "was found clear", but the entrances to the four galleries of the mine are blocked by wooden piles.
The authorities promised to continue with the work of pumping water from the wells to unblock the galleries and be able to start the rescue.
Part of the efforts of the emergency teams deployed to the Villa de Agüita mine is based on creating holes where pumps are installed that increase the extractive capacity and ensure the permanent pumping of water, according to Milenio.
[These are the 10 miners trapped in a Coahuila mine]
At the same time, as the Attorney General's Office (FGR) had announced on Thursday night, the indictment of Cristián Solís, alleged owner of the damaged mine, for his responsibility in "all acts of management and administration, in the exploitation illicit subsoil".
This suggests that he allegedly committed a crime of illegal exploitation of an asset that belongs to the nation.
nine days without news
The delay in the start of the rescue has families on edge, who cling to their faith to try to endure the wait.
Liliana Torres, niece of Jaime Montelongo, one of the trapped miners, has been sleeping in a chair outside the mine for four nights.
The search with an aquatic drone of the miners trapped in Coahuila fails
Aug. 9, 202201:38
"At times I feel tired, but little by little it gives me strength again," the 32-year-old woman told The Associated Press.
Montelongo is considered the hero of the tragedy because, after hearing the loud noise generated by the collapse and flooding of the mine on the afternoon of August 3, this 61-year-old miner decided to go down into the shaft to look for his companions, but he never came out again. thence.
After almost five decades working in mining, a job he inherited from his father, Montelongo managed to obtain a pension.
But the little money he received forced him to return to the mines to work digging buckets of coal that filled his companions.
[“My heart says he is alive”: Relatives of the 10 miners trapped in Mexico hope to be rescued alive]
The miners were trapped when an adjoining area of an old mine that was filled with water collapsed, causing heavy flooding in three of the facility's shafts some 60 meters deep.
15 people work in this coal mine, although only five managed to get out after the water entered.
The miners, all low-income, worked in the place without security measures or supervision by the authorities.
Clinging to a figure of San Judas Tadeo, which they placed outside the mine on a makeshift altar along with photographs of Jaime and candles, Torres, his uncles and cousins wait for news from the authorities about the fate of the miners.
They reveal the faces of the miners trapped in Coahuila.
Still can't get in touch with them.
Aug. 11, 202202:12
“They are waiting a long time for the rescue,” Torres said, complaining about authorities' decision Wednesday to postpone the operation.
The case has reactivated criticism of the precarious conditions in which many miners work in Mexico, without complying with safety measures such as ventilation systems, emergency exits and safety equipment, and without the supervision of the Ministry of Labor.