Nearly a million cubic metres of earth have been excavated in a bid to reach 10 miners trapped in a collapsed and flooded mine since August.
The collapse took place in a mine near the city of Sabinas, in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila, which borders the United States, on Sunday, 3rd August.
The National Coordinator of Civil Protection, Laura Velazquez Alzua, toured the mine with the media to showcase the progress they had made so far.
It has been reported that it will take between 6 and 11 months from the moment of the collapse to reach the miners, with local media reporting that chances of finding them alive are slim to none.
Newsflash obtained a statement from the Comision Federal de Electricidad (Federal Commission of Electricity; CFE) dated Thursday, 8th December and saying that they had so far excavated “24 per cent” of the total amount of earth needed to reach the 10 miners.
The statement added: “The volume of excavation carried out to date is 733,801.00 cubic metres, a figure higher than the 572,469.80 cubic metres expected.”
The CFE also said: “Jose Ibarra, technical resident of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) Project, explained that the objective is to reach the damaged galleries with a safe process, carrying out the superficial excavation in stages and it is scheduled to descend in 15-metre banks (although these may be shallower depending on the terrain conditions) to gradually reach the target area.”
Ibarra said: “There is a slope design, and the material is deposited in a dump (temporary deposit).”
He added that larger mechanised equipment is being used “to achieve high productivity”.
The statement also said: “In the afternoon, the monthly meeting with relatives of the miners was held, in which they were informed of the progress of the work and the next steps.”
Rescuers are also using explosives to break down larger rocks, with Ibarra explaining that this is done through a controlled process.
Velazquez Alzua urged the media not to spread false alarm about the use of explosives, since they are being used as part of a “careful process that is kept under control”.
It had previously been reported in August that part of the mine is flooded, with rescuers hoping in August that the trapped miners had managed to make it to an air bubble.
Footage from a drone camera had revealed that solid objects and turbulent waters were blocking the rescue team’s access to the mine and are creating low visibility conditions.
Further attempts to access the miners through other openings in the structure also failed after it was found that a well that had been created for an underwater survey was obstructed by a pile of wood while another possible access point would not allow any team members or equipment through.
Pumps were being used to attempt to drain the flooded wells at a rate of 350 litres a second.
Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had said at the time: “We have to do everything we are doing, and more.”
