Time is of the essence and the priority for the rescue teams deployed to Coahuila is to rescue the 10 workers trapped after a mine collapse in the community of Sabinas. Authorities reported this Friday, two days after the collapse, that nearly 400 agents are working to find the miners alive. In addition, 18 pumps were installed to draw water from wells near the mine and allow rescue workers access. The day before, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had formulated the government’s priorities: “What I want with all my heart is that we save the miners. We are postponing the investigations into those responsible, the permits and the controls.”
The coal mine that collapsed on Wednesday is 350 meters from a tributary of the Sabinas River in the municipality of La Agüita, 300 kilometers from the state capital Saltillo. Near the collapse area are three wells that are currently flooded. There the rescuers have placed the necessary pumps to pump the water and allow the search teams safe access to the mine called Las Conchas. There are currently 18 pumping stations installed and one more is expected to arrive this Friday. The national coordinator of civil protection, Laura Velázquez, has stated that lowering the water level is “essential” to find the workers.
“We are working tirelessly to rescue 10 trapped miners,” Velázquez said. Five workers had managed to get out on the day of the collapse, which occurred around noon while working at a depth of 60 meters. According to the latest report, two of them have already been discharged and three are doing “well” in hospital. Velázquez explained that the Federal Electricity Commission has placed seven power generators and three transformers, in addition to four others provided by mining companies. With this effort, 60 liters of water per second could be pumped out of the well, i.e. an average of 5,111 cubic meters per day.
Secretary of State for National Defense Agustín Radilla has indicated that the water level was 34 meters on August 3, when the rescue work began. This morning it had been reduced to 32. “Now it’s 30 meters that the water has,” explained the soldier. “Two perforations have been made that allow a curtain to be placed to prevent more water from reaching the wells where the accident is located. They will do two more and that will make sure the water level goes down,” he said. Radilla added that 230 soldiers, 33 National Guard agents and 120 civilians are stationed at the site, for a total of 383. 26 vehicles, four planes and seven ambulances are deployed.
Tragedies like this happen every year in Coahuila, a northern state that supplies 99% of the mineral sold to the Federal Electricity Commission. The deadly conditions in which these plants operate caused the deaths of seven workers just over a year ago, in June 2021, when another coal mine collapsed near Sabinas, despite warnings from various human rights organizations. But thousands of families depend on these jobs and companies continue without guaranteeing minimum safety standards.
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