The Government of Mexico, through the National Civil Protection Coordination (CNPC), reported this Saturday that rescue brigades to locate the four miners trapped in the Santa Fe mine, in the state of Sinaloa (northwest), are intensifying efforts to find one of the victims affected by the collapse of a tailings dam. After the CNPC joined the rescue operations, the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) specified in a press release that the brigades have managed to secure and advance «264 meters of planks, reaching the point where technical analysis indicated the possible location of the first miner». However, they warned that «after verification at the site, the worker» trapped since March 25 in the aforementioned mine, located in the municipality of El Rosario and owned by the company Industrial Minera Sinaloa, «was not located». «The next priority objective for the brigades is to continue the exploration of 1.5 kilometers of ramps, while maintaining the placement of wooden supports to ensure safe progress», the document detailed. And it assured that throughout the day these efforts will be accelerated and the number of specialized technical personnel deployed in the area of the accident, located in the locality of Chele, will be increased. It also anticipated that, according to technical analyses carried out by geotechnical specialists, it was determined that the origin of the incident «derived from a critical failure in the waterproofing layer designed to contain residual materials». «This structural rupture allowed the uncontrolled infiltration of liquids into the lower levels, generating a process of underground erosion that compromised the stability of the galleries and led to the collapse», explained the SSPC. In this sense, it warned that the search is being carried out very carefully, as «the galleries are obstructed with mud», so plywood panels have been placed «to stabilize the ground conditions and protect the rescuers». Although the authorities did not offer news on the location of the miners, they stated that the head of the CNPC, Laura Velázquez Alzúa, keeps the families of the victims directly and permanently informed. Regarding the incident that occurred on March 25 and reported to the authorities on the 26th of the same month, the CNPC indicated that «at the time of the geomembrane rupture, 25 workers were in the crew carrying out excavations. From this group, 21 miners managed to get out unharmed on their own, while four people remain trapped». «Upon receiving the official notification from state authorities, the Government of Mexico immediately activated federal response protocols and mobilized task forces to the site», it pointed out. Sinaloa is one of the main mineral-producing states in the country, in a sector that contributes a little more than 2% of the national GDP, according to data from the Association of Engineers, Metallurgists, and Geologists of Mexico (Aimmgm).
