Time is running out for 10 trapped miners, Mexican president visits
- President Lopez Obrador said he wanted to see how the rescue operation was progressing four days after the mine flooded in the northern state of Coahuila
- Nearly 400 soldiers and other personnel, including 6 military scuba divers, have joined the rescue effort but it has been too dangerous to enter the coal mine
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador visited a disaster-hit coal mining region on Sunday to see first-hand a major operation to try to rescue 10 trapped workers.
Relatives of the missing were becoming increasingly desperate four days after the mine flooded in the northern state of Coahuila, fearing time is running out to save them.
Nearly 400 soldiers and other personnel, including six military scuba divers, have joined the rescue effort but so far it has been too dangerous to enter the mine, authorities said.
“I’m going to see how the rescue’s going. I’m going to the situation,” Lopez Obrador told reporters before travelling to the site in Agujita, which is in the municipality of Sabinas. He had earlier declared on Saturday that it was “a decisive day” for the operation.
“According to the experts, we’ll know if it’s possible for the divers to enter safely,” he tweeted.
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Rescuers race against time to save 10 miners trapped in Mexico coal mine
The focus has been on pumping out water from the mine to make it safe enough to descend into the shafts, which are 60 metres (200 feet) deep.