Mexico City – Rescuers have found the first of 65 bodies believed to have been left in a northern Mexican mine following a February explosion, authorities said Friday.
The body was found about dawn as workers were removing debris from one of the shafts at the Pasta de Conchos mine in northern Coahuila state, said Ramiro Gonzalez, an official from the state attorney general’s office.
Investigators had entered the mine and were trying to recover and identify the body, Gonzalez said.
Mine owner Grupo Mexico issued a statement confirming the discovery of the body and expressing its sympathy to relatives of all 65 workers killed in the Feb. 19 explosion near San Juan Sabinas, about 85 miles southwest of the Texas border.
Relatives of the victims said the Pasta de Conchos was unsafe and workers had inadequate equipment, prompting more than 5,000 members of Mexico’s Mining and Metal Workers Union to go on strike over safety issues.
