A miner was dramatically rescued on Wednesday after being ensnared underground for nearly two weeks due to a collapse in the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa, according to a statement from authorities.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that while one miner was tragically found deceased, efforts continue as another remains unaccounted for.
The incident, which trapped Francisco Zapata Nájera and three of his colleagues, occurred on March 25 when a dam breach—triggered by a structural failure—flooded the El Rosario mine.
Out of the 25 miners working at the time of the disaster, 21 managed to escape immediately. Days later, rescue teams were able to bring one survivor to safety from an impressive depth of 300 meters (985 feet).
On Tuesday, divers located Zapata Nájera, yet treacherous floodwaters delayed their ability to reach him for 21 hours.
Eventually brought to the surface on Wednesday morning, the rescued miner’s condition was stabilized. He was then transported via a Mexican Air Force helicopter to a hospital in Mazatlán, where he is receiving specialized care.
Some hours before, Sheinbaum had said that the rescue teams were waiting for the water to be pumped out to complete the extraction.
In August 2022, 10 miners died when the El Pinabete coal mine in Coahuila flooded — a disaster that sparked intense controversy by revealing how many Mexican laborers work without essential safety protections or official supervision.
Authorities worked for weeks to pump water out of the mine, hoping they could send in rescuers, but were never able to keep water out and stabilize the mine shaft sufficiently.
The miners’ bodies were not recovered.
Mexico’s deadliest mining accident took place in February 2006 at the Pasta de Conchos mine in Coahuila, where an explosion killed 65 workers.
