Pasta de Conchos mine disaster
| Time | 14:05 CST | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 19 February 2006 – 25 February 2006 (6 days) | ||||||
| Location |
San Juan de Sabinas, Coahuila, México Rescue progress (suspended)
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| Coordinates | 27°56′N 101°13′W / 27.933°N 101.217°WCoordinates: 27°56′N 101°13′W / 27.933°N 101.217°W |
San Juan de Sabinas, Coahuila, México Rescue progress (suspended)
The Pasta de Conchos mine disaster occurred at approximately 2:30 a.m. CST on February 19, 2006, after a methane explosion within a coal mine near Nueva Rosita, San Juan de Sabinas municipality, in the Mexican state of Coahuila. The mines were run by Grupo México, the largest mining company in the country. It was estimated that 65 miners, who were working the 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. shift that morning, were trapped underground by the explosion. Only 2 of the 65 bodies have been recovered.
There have been conflicting reports regarding the depth at which the miners were trapped. The National Mining and Metal Workers Union (SNTMMSRM) stated that the trapped miners were approximately 1,600 feet (490 m) below ground, via a mile-long horizontal shaft. Grupo México released a statement saying that the miners were about 500 feet (150 m) below ground when the explosion occurred. Guadalupe Rosales Martínez, the sister of a worker saved from the mine opening, told the Los Angeles Times that the workers had previously complained about a gas leak in the mine. Norma Vitela, the wife of a mine worker trapped inside the mine, told The Miami Herald that her husband complained about the same leak.
By February 21, 2006 Grupo México search teams and relatives of the trapped miners were beginning to lose hope. Each miner was allotted an oxygen pack, but the pack only guaranteed the miners six hours of oxygen. The Governor of Coahuila, Humberto Moreira Valdés, told the Televisa television network that the mine's ventilation service, which uses fans to import oxygen and export dangerous gases, was still in operation. However, the February 21 edition of The Miami Herald remarked, "Even so, they could not be certain the precious oxygen was arriving to where the miners were trapped."
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