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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | March 2006 
Workers Look for Bodies of 65 Mexican Miners
 CNN.com
| | Miners helping in the rescue efforts warm themselves up before heading to a coal mine where a gas buildup in triggered a pre-dawn explosion on Feb. 21, 2006 in the town of San Juan de Sabinas, Mexico. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) |
Mexico City - Dozens of workers dug through tons of earth and debris Friday to recover the bodies of 65 miners killed when an explosion two weeks ago collapsed their coal mine, officials said.
Sixty-four workers, many of them miners themselves, are trying to reach the bodies at the Pasta de Conchos coal mine, owner Grupo Mexico said.
The predawn explosion February 19 left the miners trapped and released large amounts of methane gas and carbon monoxide in the mine near San Juan Sabinas, 85 miles southwest of the U.S. border at Eagle Pass, Texas.
Rescue workers dug for six days after the blast in the hopes of finding survivors, but the search was called off amid concerns that the air underground was too toxic and fears that they could trigger another explosion.
Grupo Mexico said the levels of toxic gas have decreased, making it safe to resume recovery efforts, but added it wasn't possible to determine when the workers could get to the bodies.
Labor Secretary Francisco Salazar said this week that the government began investigating the cause of the explosion and whether it was safe to reopen the mine.
The investigation, a joint effort by the national miners' union, university experts and Grupo Mexico, also will try to determine responsibility for the explosion and recommend any appropriate sanctions, Salazar said.
Mexican officials have suggested overhauling mining-safety laws.
The recovery efforts follow a strike by Mexico's Mining and Metal workers union that began Tuesday to demand better working conditions. A day later, the strike spread nationwide. Most miners and steel workers began lifting strikes Thursday. |
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