MEXICO CITY – Fourteen workers were trapped after an accident on
Tuesday at a coal mine in northern Mexico, a source with the local emergencies
authority said.
"There was an accumulation of gas and 14 people were trapped there, 14
miners. We don't know if there were any fatalities," said the official, who
asked not to be named.
The official was not immediately able to say which company owns the mine,
which is located in Sabinas municipality in Coahuila state.
El Universal newspaper said the mine belonged to Asociacion de Carboneros
BINSA. Representatives from BINSA could not be immediately reached for
comment.
Mexican coal mines generally supply the domestic steel and electricity
sectors. Although some mines are operated by large companies there are also a
number of sites that are mined by cooperatives and informal associations.
Grupo Mexico's Pasta de Conchos coal mine was the site of the worst mining
accident in Mexico in recent years in 2006. Sixty-five miners were killed after
an explosion at the mine.
The bodies of most of the victims were never recovered and the accident
fueled a bitter dispute between the company and organized labor in Mexico. Reuters
