Andrea Becerril and Jared Laureles
The newspaper La Jornada
Saturday, July 27, 2024, p. 14
The federal government yesterday identified the first of the 63 Pasta de Conchos workers buried for 18 years in the coal mine located in Coahuila and owned by Grupo México, owned by Germán Larrea. This is miner José Alfredo Ordónez Martínez, whose biological remains were found as part of the rescue work carried out by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE).
The Ministry of the Interior reported that the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), after analyzing the remains found on June 12, officially confirmed to immediate family members the identification of Ordóñez Martínez.
He is one of the 13 workers who, according to the logs provided by the company, worked in one of the mine galleries at a depth of 146 meters, where the search is currently underway.
This was achieved once the corresponding legal expert actions were concluded. The National Institute of Genomic Medicine (Inmegen) collaborated with the institution that processed the genetic material of the recovered remains and carried out the comparison with the DNA samples that relatives of all the victims provided to the Institute.
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It was reported that with this identification, the FGR will formally begin the process of handing over the remains to the family, and full support will be provided by the government.
Rescue work led by the CFE continues in the affected gallery that is accessible, and work is also continuing to approach two other galleries, where there is hope of making new discoveries.
▲ Mine gallery rehabilitated to search for miners buried 18 years ago.Photo The Day
The Mexican government reiterated that the rescue efforts for the 62 missing miners will continue, in order to fulfill with the commitment of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador not to stop until they are found
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The Pasta de Conchos accident, which occurred on February 19, 2006, trapped 65 workers who were working the night shift, but Grupo México decided to suspend the rescue five days after the tragedy, regardless of whether they were still alive. Months later, in April of that year, the bodies of two miners who were in the superficial part of the vein were recovered.
According to the Miners’ Union headed by Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, businessman Germán Larrea opposed the rescue of the remaining bodies, so that it would not be discovered that the tragedy was caused by poor safety measures, since despite the accumulation of gases, contractors were allowed to weld inside the mine.
The Miners’ Union stressed that President López Obrador’s government made a commitment to the widows to rescue the bodies, which is already being achieved, but, regardless of this, Larrea must be held criminally responsible.
