The flood does not subside in the mine with the 10 workers trapped

Leopold Ramos

Correspondent

Newspaper La Jornada
Tuesday, August 23, 2022, p. eleven

Sabinas, Coah., The extraction pumps continue to work 24 hours a day at the El Pinabete mine, but relatives of the 10 miners trapped in the mine since August 3 lose hope of rescuing them alive.

The water level in the tunnels of the vent does not subside, and the authorities in charge of the rescue work do not report significant progress to those who hope that their parents, children and siblings will return home alive or, at least, that their bodies will be recovered. .

Little by little, the camp that for two weeks has been home to those waiting for a rescue is becoming empty, the forces are exhausted and the fatigue increases.

With the sudden flooding of the mine on Sunday the 14th and the incessant start of drainage work, the hope of finding survivors is falling. We are where we startedsaid the relative of a worker.

Antonio Cabrales, 81, awaits news of his namesake son. He has not left the camp but considers that it is a long time since the accident, and nothing has been heard from the miners. It’s a loss to take them out, because you don’t have to lose faith, but it’s already a lot.

Until last week, the camp seemed packed; today, relatives make guards of few members even with the illusion that the authorities will give them a positive report on their relatives, but it is evident that fatigue begins to overcome them. However, among the few who still wait near the mine, there are those who hope to receive a miracle. Carmen, sister of the worker Jaime Montelongo, stated that for her her blood relative he’s alive and I tell my sisters, for me, that’s the reason why we don’t move from here because it’s very sad to leave and he’s alone here.

Even in the opinion of the authorities, the rescue is slow. Governor Miguel Ángel Riquelme considered it necessary to start giving results to families, although he insisted that work be done 24 hours a day, despite the difficulties.

It is required that a better result can be given in the plug that is being worked on in the Conchas Norte mine so that the volume that leaked into the mine (El Pinabete) is zero, or much less than the volume found in the 33 wells. where they are trapped.

A high level of mine flooding was reported yesterday morning: Each of shafts 2, 3, and 4 had 28.98 meters of water, 31.42, and 28.54 meters, respectively. There was progress in the extraction of liquid, but not very significant.