Operation to rescue trapped miners in Mexico to begin this week

MEXICO CITY

Mexican authorities said Tuesday that a rescue team will enter a collapsed mine later this week where 10 miners have been trapped since Aug. 3 in northern Mexico.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador anticipates the team will enter the ruins in Sabinas, Coahuila within the next two days.

The rescue team was unable Monday to retrieve the miners and authorities said the underlying shafts where the miners are located still hold water and solid material.

National Coordinator of Civil Protection Laura Velazquez said an underwater drone detected adverse conditions that made the rescue impossible.

“Contact was made with the water layer, and the following was determined: there are no conditions for the entry of search and rescue teams yesterday (Monday). A large number of solid materials and turbulence was observed,” she said at a news conference.

A joint operation with the military, Ministry of Civil Protection and state energy company, Comision Federal de Electricidad, is working to pump water out of the wells to allow access to the rescue team.

Lopez Obrador said 16 meters (52 feet) of water is yet to be pumped out before the rescue team can access the ruins.

“If progress continues, we can already think that tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, the water level will be one and a half meters, and divers and rescuers will be able to enter, that is to explain what is happening in the mine,” he said.

Authorities reported that drilling inside the coal mine was interrupted when miners beached a body of water, flooding the mine and trapping the miners while injuring five.​​​​​​​

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