Rescuers Recover Remains of Second of 65 Mexican Coal Miners Killed in February
 Associated Press
| | Miners helping in the rescue efforts are seen at the site of the mine after a gas buildup in a coal mine triggered a pre-dawn explosion on Feb. 20, 2006 in the town of San Juan de Sabinas, Mexico. (AP/Eduardo Verdugo) |
Piedras Negras, Mexico - The partial remains of a second coal miner killed nearly a year ago in a mine blast have been recovered, while 63 more remain missing, officials in this northern Mexican state said Monday.
The remains were found early Sunday, half-buried under tons of debris scattered by the explosion on Feb. 19, 2006, said Sergio Robles, deputy secretary of civil protection for the state of Coahuila, where the Pasta de Conchos mine is located.
The underground explosion at the mine near San Juan Sabinas, about 135 kilometers (85 miles) southwest of the Texas border, sparked temperatures reaching 600 degrees Celsius (1,110 degrees Fahrenheit). The cause is believed to be a buildup of methane gas.
The remains were those of Jose Manuel Pena Saucedo, 52, of Palau, Coahuila, state prosecutor Jorge Rios said. Pena was buried Monday in the presence of his wife and six children, ages 9 to 19, according to officials at mine operator Grupo Industrial Minera Mexico.
Company officials "express their deepest respect to the families of our deceased colleagues," said Xavier Garcia de Quevedo, president of Minera Mexico, a subsidiary of mining company Grupo Mexico SA de CV.
"We know the search has been a long one, but today as always we reiterate our promise to continue as long as it is humanly possible" to search for the remains of other victims.
In June, rescuers found the body of one miner, Felipe Reyna Torres, but tons of wood, rock and metal have hindered the recovery of the others. The mine has been closed since the explosion.
Last month, prosecutors in Coahuila state said they would seek to charge 10 mine managers and federal government inspectors with homicide, after investigators allegedly found that they did not correct unsafe conditions detected eight months before the blast.
"We were able to prove there were deficiencies in the mine's ventilation system and also have accredited a presence of methane gas larger than the permitted amounts, among other (safety) omissions," Rios said at the time. |
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News Around the Republic of Mexico | January 2007 
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