A soldier descended for a few moments this Wednesday into the flooded mine in northern Mexico, where ten miners have been missing for a week, the local governor said. AFP journalists at the scene saw a soldier carrying an oxygen tank but wearing a uniform and helmet descending into one of the wells aboard a type of metal basket and resurfacing minutes later.
Coahuila State Governor Miguel Riquelme later tweeted that one of the military divers descended the number 4 shaft of the coal mine but encountered “obstacles to access the shafts. “Pumping operations continue so they can re-enter and continue search and rescue,” he added.
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Civil protection coordinator Laura Velazquez had previously pointed out that after sightings by an underwater drone, “all rescuers were equipped and ready for action at any time” in the approximately 60 meter deep mine. Several hundred people are involved in rescuing the minors, whose relatives are becoming increasingly concerned over time.
According to authorities, the miners were dredging when they breached a water table. Coahuila, Mexico’s main coal producing region, has seen a string of fatal mining accidents over the years. The worst happened at the Pasta de Conchos mine in 2006 when a gas explosion killed 65 miners.