A team of Chilean experts arrived Thursday in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila to help rescue eight workers trapped in a coal mine, dpa reported.
The bodies of six miners have been retrieved from the mine in the town of Sabinas following an explosion at the facility on Tuesday. A 15-year-old worker who was on the surface suffered the amputation of an arm in the accident, but is recovering well, doctors say.
The Chilean experts include two who took part in the dramatic rescue of 33 miners who were trapped underground for more than two months from August 5 following a collapse in the San Jose mine.
However, Mexican authorities regard it as highly unlikely that any survivors will be found in Coahuila. The mine is precarious, with only one 60-metre-deep shaft from which four small horizontal tunnels issue. Rescue teams are trying to access the shaft from a similar nearby mine.
Mexican authorities were investigating conditions at the mine after finding irregular proceedings, and they did not rule out pressing criminal charges against its owners.
On February 19, 2006, 65 workers were trapped in a coal mine at Pasta de Conchos, Coahuila. Only two bodies were recovered, and the mine was closed, as authorities feared further explosions. The bodies of the 63 remaining miners were never retrieved.