Mexico prepares to launch search for trapped coal miners

Operation to rescue 10 miners will become possible once "97 percent of the water" is extracted from the mine in Agujita town of northern Coahuila state, officials say.

Many attempts by rescuers to enter the mine have failed due to debris and water levels. (AFP)

Mexican authorities have said they are finally in a position to begin searching a flooded coal mine, where 10 workers have been trapped for more than a week, offering fresh hope to anguished relatives.

"We have all the conditions to go down there today... to search for and rescue the miners," civil defence national coordinator Laura Velazquez said on Friday.

Velazquez said the rescue operation would become possible once "97 percent of the water" has been extracted from the nearly 60-metre deep mine in the town of Agujita in the northern state of Coahuila.

Several hundred rescuers, including soldiers and military scuba divers, are taking part in efforts to save the miners missing since August 3. 

On Thursday, rescuers had made several attempts to go into the main tunnels but found debris blocking their way that needed to be removed.

The water level in one of the three vertical shafts that rescuers will try to enter has been reduced to 70 centimetres, from more than 30 meters initially, Defence Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval said.

The other two shafts still have 3.9 and 4.7 metres of water. Authorities consider 1.5 metres to be an acceptable water level to gain access to the crudely constructed El Pinabete mine.

Clinging for hope

The government's latest announcement provided a new glimmer of hope for families that have become increasingly frustrated with the pace of the rescue operation.

"With that level (of water) you can already enter –– God willing," David Huerta, the brother-in-law of one of the trapped workers, told the AFP news agency.

The 35-year-old said that he himself had dug for coal in small artisanal mines like El Pinabete for nearly 13 years before abandoning the dangerous, gruelling work.

At the bottom of the vertical shafts rescuers will reach the underground tunnels where the digging takes place, and where the missing miners are probably located, Huerta said.

"Crews can go in there and search faster," he added.

Coahuila, Mexico's main coal-producing region, has seen a series of fatal mining incidents over the years.

The worst accident was an explosion that claimed 65 lives at the Pasta de Conchos mine in 2006.

Last year, seven died when they were trapped in a mine in the region.

Source: AFP

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/mexico-prepares-to-launch-search-for-trapped-coal-miners/?feed_id=10139&_unique_id=62f6d4e715da7

France launches ambitious rescue mission for trapped beluga in Seine River

PARIS 

French authorities on Tuesday will move ahead with an ambitious rescue mission for the beluga whale that has been trapped in the Seine River for a week now, local media reported.

The animal swam upstream from the English Channel after having wandered far from its pod, Franceinfo reported.

Reports from experts suggest that the whale was alert but had not eaten for days.

Sea Shepherd France, a non-profit group working for the protection of the oceans, has been keeping watch by boat over the whale for the last week.

The group will attempt to extract the whale from the water assisted by local police, fire fighters and other officials.

The plan is to catch the beluga in a net, lift him by a crane, and place him in a truck at which point he will be transported to another seawater location for a few days to be examined and cared for, then released back into the sea.

The whale is, however, presently 130 kilometers (80.77 miles) from any coast.

Tricky operation

What makes the operation harder is that there is no vehicle accessibility on the banks of the river where the whale is.

Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France, told Franceinfo the rescue operation will be “particularly sensitive and heavy in logistics.”

She acknowledged the urgent need to feed the whale and get him hydrated.

“We have two former whale keepers with us, but it’s unclear how the beluga will react. Feeding a cetacean in captivity is one thing, it’s another with a wild animal,” Essemlali added.

In a tweet on Friday, Sea Shepherd said: “The animal is extremely emaciated.”

Attempts to feed him have been made over the last week, with dead herring, then live trout, even vitamin substances tossed into the water, but the beluga has not consumed anything, the non-profit group added.

Belugas are found most near the Svalbard archipelago, a cluster of islands between Norway and the North Pole or in the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada.

Health hazard

The warmer temperatures of the Seine are harmful to the beluga's health. So is swimming in freshwater.

The operation also must be carried out, authorities say, as quickly as possible to sustain the whale’s life.

Despite plans for the very risky operation and the whale’s precarious state, Gerard Mauger, vice-president of the Cotentin Cetacean Study Group (GECC), told Franceinfo the beluga “is a well-toned animal, which spends very little time on the surface and performs long apneas” a temporary suspension of breathing in which the whale is submerged.

The deep dives, Mauger said, are a sign that his lung capacity “remains good.”

Mauger added, however, that catching the whale will be tricky.

“Even trying to approach him very carefully, it’s difficult. He makes a lot of changes of direction,” he added.

Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/france-launches-ambitious-rescue-mission-for-trapped-beluga-in-seine-river/?feed_id=8781&_unique_id=62f2bffe7362f

Families fret as Mexico battles to rescue trapped miners

Scores of rescuers race against time to save 10 workers trapped in a flooded coal mine as desperate relatives watch rescue efforts at the site in the northern Coahuila state.

Soldiers, emergency workers and rescue dogs were deployed after the latest disaster to strike Mexico's main coal-producing region. (Reuters)

Families have grown increasingly anxious as they awaited word from rescue teams tasked with descending a flooded coal mine in northern Mexico to rescue 10 workers nearly 24 hours after an accident confined the crew deep underground.

The miners became trapped on Wednesday after their excavation work caused a tunnel wall to collapse, triggering flooding in three wells.

Mexico's Civil Protection agency did not immediately respond on Thursday when asked about efforts to pump out the water, and if levels were rising.

Its director, Laura Velazquez, said earlier on Thursday that time was everything, and several hundred officials were "working day and night" to assist with the rescue.

Soldiers, emergency workers and rescue dogs were deployed after the latest disaster to strike Mexico's main coal-producing region in Coahuila state, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said.

"What I want with all my soul is that we rescue the miners," he told reporters.

"We must not lose faith. We must not lose hope," he added.

Relatives of the miners have been waiting for news outside the facility of the coal mine where a shaft collapsed, leaving the miners trapped. (Reuters)

'I want my husband to come out all right'

Families keeping vigil remained on edge.

Erika Escobedo, the wife of one of the trapped miners, 29-year-old Hugo Tijerina, told the Reuters news agency she spent all night watching rescue efforts at the site in the northern border state of Coahuila.

"They say the water is rising," she said, describing bigger water extraction pumps she saw hauled to the site.

"I want my husband to come out all right," said Escobedo, her voice breaking in a phone interview from the site, as she watched rescuers bore another tunnel to try to reach the miners.

For now, she has told her three children not to worry about their father and that he will come home okay.

"Unfortunately, there's not much hope," Jose Luis Amaya, whose cousin and brother-in-law was among those trapped, told Milenio TV on Wednesday night.

Five other miners escaped the accident. They all received medical treatment, and two have been discharged from the hospital.

Still, Elizabeth Vielma, the mother of three men who work at the site but were not involved in Wednesday's accident, said she worried about conditions there.

"They just give them the drills and send them down," she said.

Source: TRTWorld and agencies

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/families-fret-as-mexico-battles-to-rescue-trapped-miners/?feed_id=6742&_unique_id=62ec61fcbda3d