Remains of 63 miners who died 18 years ago discovered in Mexico
The remains of some 63 who were trapped 18 years ago in a coal mine in northern Mexico have been found.
Mexican authorities say the miners were trapped at the Pasta de Conchos mine in the state of Coahuila on February 19, 2006.
Eight out of 73 survived the accident with serious burns. Two bodies were recovered after the incident but years after the incident, the Interior ministry announced that the first human remains were found in one of the mine’s chambers.
The exact date of the discovery was not indicated.
A search of the bodies began in 2020 after Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador promised to recover the same and put the Federal Electricity Commission in charge of the digging.
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Before that, consecutive governments opted against recovery citing cost and danger with no guarantee of success. The victim’s relatives meanwhile pressed for a search.
The Interior ministry said that 13 miners were working in the chamber where the remains were found on the day of the accident.
The government indicated it has not yet determined if an explosion caused the mine's collapse, the Independent indicates.
The Coahuila state prosecutor's office, in collaboration with the National Search Commission and the National Institute of Genomics Medicine, will examine the remains for identification and try to establish the cause of the accident.
The accident is considered one of the biggest mining tragedies in the country.
