Rescuers edge toward 65 trapped Mexican miners

SAN JUAN DE SABINAS, Mexico - Rescue workers digging with hand tools got closer to 65 Mexican miners trapped underground today after a blast at a coal mine, but emergency services had little hope the men were alive.

More than a day after the gas explosion in the northern state of Coahuila, the miners' six-hour oxygen tanks had almost certainly run out, but mine operators hoped for air pockets that might keep the workers alive.

Rescuers were only 100 metres from where two men had been operating a conveyor belt when the blast happened yesterday, civil protection officials said.

The rest of the men were in groups farther into the mine, in the town of San Juan de Sabinas, and progress through rubble from collapsed roofs was slow.

"Why don't they go faster?" cried Juanita Carrera, 28, whose husband Margarito was trapped underground. "We are desperate," she said, tears streaming down her face.

Sergio Robles, head of Coahuila state's civil protection agency, said no contact had been made with any of the miners, but unconfirmed rumours swirled that rescuers had heard knocking in the mine, 100km southwest of Eagle Pass, Texas.

An explosive mixture of methane gas underground made the rescue dangerous, and one rescuer said it could take days to reach most of the trapped miners.

"With the atmosphere and the risks and with time passing, everything is running against us," Robles said.

Rescuers used no electric light or tools for fear of causing a spark that could ignite another explosion.

"It's just shovels, picks and human effort," said miner Eliseo Moreno, covered in black dust and blinking in the sunlight after ending his rescue shift.

Eight men who were working closer to the surface were rescued after the explosion, the miners' union said. They were taken to a hospital with first- and second-degree burns. Ventilators were pumping out gas at the mine,

"There is always hope," said Juan Rebolledo of mine owner Grupo Mexico. "Because we really don't know what conditions they are in, there could be pockets of air down there," he said.

He denied workers' claims that the company had been negligent on safety. The mine passed a Labor Ministry safety examination as recently as February 7, he said.

Off-duty miner Salvador Estrada said workers complained to engineers of a gas smell underground last week but were told to get back to work.

Scores of anxious relatives, some wrapped up in blankets against the chilly air, others standing around fires for warmth, waited all night outside the mine

Soldiers stood at the gates of the mine, stopping family members from going inside, and ambulances lined up at the entrance.

More than 150 coal miners died when an explosion collapsed tunnels in the 1960s in the same state, one of the worst mining tragedies in recent Mexican history. Another local mine explosion killed 37 in 1998.

Coahuila is Mexico's top coal-mining state, serving the local steel and power industries. Many of the mines are deep underground.

- REUTERS