Desperate race against time to rescue 10 workers trapped in flooded tunnels underground after coal mine collapse in Mexico

• The mine flooded after an inner wall collapsed, government ministry has said 
• Three miners have so far been rescued from the Sabinas mine and hospitalized
• Local media reported that a miner managed to escape and raise the alarm
• Some 92 soldiers were working at the scene, Mexico’s president said 

Rescuers in Mexico are in a desperate race against time to reach 10 workers left trapped inside a coal mine after it flooded on Wednesday.

Dozens of military personnel and rescue dogs were deployed to the scene of the accident in the state of Coahuila, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said. 

The miners became trapped following the collapse of an inner wall, the ministry handling the disaster said. Local media outlets reported that a miner managed to escape the collapse and alerted authorities.

‘At 1:35 pm (1835 GMT) a coal mine collapsed in the municipality of Sabinas, Coahuila, which caused a tunnel to flood’ and trapped the workers, Obrador tweeted. ‘We hope to find them safe.’

Three miners had been rescued and hospitalized, the Security and Citizen Protection Ministry said in an update on the rescue efforts at the mine.

‘The work will not stop until they are found,’ the ministry said in a statement. 

‘The Mexican government guarantees all the necessary resources to carry out the search and rescue operations,’ it said. 

Rescuers in Mexico are in a desperate race against time to reach 10 workers trapped inside a coal mine after it flooded on Wednesday. Pictured: A crane is used as rescue workers strive to reach 10 miners who have been trapped below

Dozens of military personnel (pictured) and rescue dogs were deployed to the scene of the accident in the state of Coahuila, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said

Relatives await news of the miners trapped after the collapse in a coal mine in the municipality of Sabinas, state of Coahuila, Mexico, August 3

The miners became trapped following the collapse of an inner wall, the ministry handling the disaster said. Pictured: A soldier salutes as a car enters the area of the coal mine

Rescuers and colleagues of the trapped miners carry out rescue work after the collapse of a coal mine in the municipality of Sabinas, state of Coahuila, August 3

President Obrador had first said nine miners were missing, but the security ministry said later that three had been rescued and taken to hospital while 10 were still believed to be inside. 

Some 92 soldiers were working at the scene, as well as specialists and rescue dogs, the president said. Sabinas is about 70 miles south-west of Eagle Pass, Texas.

Television footage showed anxious relatives gathered to wait for news, with some crying and comforting each other at the site, about 700 miles north of Mexico City.

The mother of one of the workers wept inconsolably, unable to answer questions from the press.

Through tears, another woman at the scene said two of her children worked in the mine, though one of them had managed to escape after the accident.

As night fell hours later, the families gathered under tents outside the mine in silence as state police, the national guard, medical teams and other rescuers worked to find the trapped workers.

Three miners had been rescued and hospitalized, the Security and Citizen Protection Ministry said in an update on the rescue efforts at the mine in the Sabinas municipality of the northern state of Coahuila. Pictured: People work to reach the trapped miners

Pictured: Relatives await news of the miners trapped after the collapse in a coal mine in the municipality of Sabinas, state of Coahuila

Pictured: Soldiers arrive at the facilities of a coal mine which collapsed leaving miners trapped, in Sabinas, in Coahuila state, Mexico, August 3

Coahuila’s state government said that the miners had been carrying out excavation work when they breached an adjoining area full of water, causing the shaft to collapse and flood.

‘The mine began operating in January of this year and until now there have been no reports of any type of anomaly,’ it said in a statement.

State governor Miguel Riquelme said he had asked labor authorities and the local prosecutor’s office to prioritize the rescue and investigation.

The Labor Ministry said it had not received any complaints about safety at the mine, which began operations in January.

Coahuila, the country’s main coal-producing region, has seen a series of fatal mining accidents over the years. 

Pictured: Relatives of a trapped miner hug and cry as they away news of their loved one

Pictured: The relative of a miner wipes the tears from her eyes while waiting for information outside the premises of a coal mine which collapsed leaving miners trapped

Pictured: A rescue worker runs across the area over the mine. An ambulance is seen in the background

Pictured: Relatives today await news of the miners trapped after the collapse in a coal mine in the municipality of Sabinas, state of Coahuila

In June and July of 2021, cave-ins at two Coahuila mines claimed the lives of nine miners after becoming trapped.

But Mexico’s worst mining accident also occurred in Coahuila on February 19 2006, when an explosion ripped through the Pasta de Conchos mine while 73 miners were inside. Eight were rescued with injuries including serious burns.

The rest died and only two of their bodies were recovered.

Mr Lopez Obrador’s administration promised two years ago to recover the remaining 63 bodies, a highly technical endeavour that has still not begun.

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