Rescuers in Mexico Find Only Methane

Rescue crews digging through 800 tons of dirt and rubble have found no sign of two miners they hoped were the closest of 65 men trapped four days ago in an underground explosion, and measurements showed toxic levels of methane, authorities said Thursday.

Obstructions, cave-ins and methane levels have slowed rescuers since they began work early Sunday at the Pasta de Conchos mine, about 70 miles southwest of Eagle Pass, Texas.

For two days, officials have said crews working with picks and shovels were nearing the men believed to be nearest the mine’s entrance. The crews worked by hand out of concern that machines could spark a fire.

Many of the several hundred relatives who have camped here awaiting news had hoped the two miners would be found quickly, offering a sign that others might walk out alive.

But talk of a miracle began fading Thursday. Reuters reported that a representative of Grupo Mexico, the mine owner, said that as many as 18 of the miners were believed dead after tests of the methane levels.

The miners carried at most a few hours’ worth of oxygen and are believed to be as much as 1.24 miles underground. The deeper rescuers descended the higher the methane levels were, officials said.

“It is grave,” mine superintendent Ruben Escudero said.

Rescuers advanced well past the spot where they thought the two men were working a conveyor belt at the time of the explosion. Escudero said the men were either buried or in a different part of the mine.

Priests, ministers and psychologists began offering comfort to family members who have grown increasingly angry over the slow pace of the rescue effort and the limited access to information. They have complained that mine owners and the miners union have been lax in maintaining safe conditions, a charge officials deny.

The mine is in the state of Coahuila, Mexico’s coal mining capital.

It pays workers $50 to $100 each for a six-day workweek and employs about 14,000 people.

Times staff writer Carlos Martinez contributed to this report. Times wire services were also used in compiling it.