Mexico seeks assistance from American and German companies for miners

• The miners became confined underground at the Pinabete mine in Coahuila on Aug. 3.
• A tunnel wall collapsed, triggering flooding throughout the mine.
• Mexico will ask both a German and a U.S. company to help rescue 10 miners trapped underground.

Officials in Mexico said on Tuesday that they will request assistance from both a German and an American company to rescue 10 miners who have been stuck in a coal mine for almost two weeks. Families of the trapped men urged Mexico to move more quickly to save the victims.

When asked which two companies it contacted, the Foreign Ministry remained silent.

On August 3, a tunnel wall collapsed in the Pinabete mine in the northern border state of Coahuila, trapping the miners beneath and causing floods throughout the mine.

In order to send rescue crews into the mine safely, officials have battled to remove enough water and debris, including piping and wooden boards, from the 60-meter (197-foot) mine shafts.

The head of Mexico’s civil protection agency, Laura Velazquez, announced that the Foreign Ministry and other government representatives would engage with the businesses on Tuesday.

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She said during a routine government news conference, “They are two companies that will provide us an opinion to determine our activities with more accuracy.”

While attempting to close off the nearby Conchas Norte mine, where water that has accumulated for more than 25 years is now flowing into Pinabete due to the subterranean tunnel collapse, engineers are pumping water out of Pinabete in the meanwhile. View More

The government, according to the relatives of the stranded miners, should have acted more quickly because they claim their displeasure has grown with each delay.

According to Javier Tijerina, whose brother Hugo Tijerina is imprisoned below, “They haven’t been able to solve anything.” The fact that this nation lacks rescue people who are trained and ready for circumstances like this is embarrassing.

Erika Escobedo, Hugo’s wife, said she was trying to hold onto hope of seeing her husband once again but was worried that authorities might have missed an opportunity to find the miners when water levels were lower a few days ago.

“Everything is moving so slowly… When they still had the chance, they had to get them out, she added.

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