No contact has been made with any of these miners in the three days since a methane gas explosion caused three main tunnels into the coal mine to cave in, entrapping the workers underground. Hope of finding their relatives and friends alive is fading among many gathered here.

Two new collapses in the early morning hours of February 21 further delayed rescue operations. Miners’ relatives, angry about the lack of information about the trapped miners, tried to force their way into the mine that day. They were stopped by federal troops. The Mexican army has deployed some 250 soldiers, and together with various police agencies have cordoned off the mine to all but rescue crews.

Those waiting here for news of the 65 know about the poor safety conditions at the mine. “We want the company to pay attention to what the workers say,” said Romelia Bordas, a preschool teacher who has friends in the mine. “Workers have reported that there is [methane] gas in the mine, but the company doesn’t do anything because they don’t want to stop production.”

“All along I told them that mine is unsafe,” Zacarías Cruz, whose brother and brother-in-law are among the 65 trapped, told the Mexican daily La Jornada. “But you’ve got to go in out of necessity. I worked there five years, and there was a lot of gas. Down there it was a time bomb.”

A dozen workers who were nearest to the entrance were rescued soon after the February 19 gas explosion. They are being treated for burns and broken bones. These workers report that there were two explosions shortly after 2:00 a.m., well into the third shift Sunday morning. Most of the workers were cut off, many about a mile into the mine.

Volunteer rescue teams, including workers from nearby mines, have been working around the clock to clear rubble, shore up the roof, and search for possible survivors. The company claims the miners had six hours of oxygen available to them located within the mine.

“We have the right to stop working if there is something unsafe, but many don’t because of fear of reprisals by the company,” said René Limón González, a recently injured long wall miner from the nearby Mimosa #7 mine, who was among the crowd waiting for news on the rescue effort. Like Pasta de Conchos, the Mimosa mine is organized by the National Mine Workers’ Union (SNTM).  
 
Poor pay, unsafe conditions
Immediately after the explosion, SNTM spokesperson Consuelo Aguilar told the media, “We have pressed for better safety conditions as well as for better pay at the mines.” She also called for an investigation to determine the responsibility of any company officials for the explosion.

Speaking to reporters in front of the mine, SNTM general secretary Napoleón Gómez Urrutia protested the company’s refusal to stop production in face of dangerous conditions. “Not even a gold mine is worth the life of one worker,” he said.

Gomez said that of the 65 people trapped in the mine, 25 are union members, 36 are contract workers, and four are bosses. “Right now what’s most important is to rescue these brothers, union and nonunion, hopefully alive,” he said.

While the mine owners encourage hope for good news on the 65 who have been trapped underground, they have instructed a nearby cemetery to dig fresh graves.

Pasta de Conchos, a shaft mine that employs about 300 workers, is owned by Industrial Minera Mexico, part of Grupo Mexico, the world’s third-largest copper producer. It has operations in Mexico, Peru, and the United States, and is also a major coal producer in Mexico. Sabinas is located in the northern state of Coahuila, which contains 95 percent of the country’s coal reserves, producing 12 million tons per year.

Days before the explosion, “the gas meter showed methane levels of 2.8 and 2.7 percent,” Herbey Flores Moreno, one of the surviving workers, told the daily Zócalo. The mine machinery is supposed to cut off when methane reaches 1 percent. According to Flores, the bosses often had miners work with high levels of gas, saying the meters were poorly calibrated. The company claims that the last methane reading before the explosion showed just 0.7 percent.

Most of the miners are paid only about $50 a week. Limón pointed out that “contractors are paid less than full-time employees, they get the heavier work,” and face greater risk without union protection. He added that they even get smaller and older emergency oxygen units that last about 45 minutes. The union has opposed the expanded use of contract miners by the coal bosses, who use this as a way to weaken the union.

María Luisa Martínez Sánchez, who has been outside the mine since the day of the explosion, said, “My husband is trapped in the mine. He is a contract worker and earns 400 pesos [about $40] per week.” Other miners earn about 600 pesos or more per week, depending on their job and experience.

The disaster has caused a political crisis in a contentious election year. Federal, state, and local politicians have streamed into Sabinas. Reporters from around the world are on the scene, and the national media is running hourly coverage.

“It’s a shame that this has to happen for the press to come pay attention to what’s happening to the miners,” said Ricardo Guerrero, a construction worker whose brother-in-law is among those still in the mine. “The companies care about their own interests, not the workers.”

Naomi Craine contributed to this article.
 
 
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