Mexico | A minor rescue operation can take six to 11 months

They have no evidence that the miners have been living underground since August 3. Officials never mentioned their deaths and said they were continuing rescue efforts, even though a fatal outcome seemed inevitable.

“We are desperate. We don’t know what to do. We cannot accept this,” Juani Cabriales, sister of one of the miners trapped underground at the El Pinabet mine in Coahuila state, told AFP.

“We expected it to take a month. But almost a year is not possible. There must be other solutions,” added Guadalupe Cabriales, sister of the missing minor.

The families met with Laura Velázquez, head of civil protection, who explained the authorities’ plan to them.

The strategy proposed by M.^me Velázquez has three “options” that are being evaluated, one of which involves pumping water and opening a tunnel with “inclined access ramps” to reach galleries in the mine.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced on Thursday that the plan would be presented to family members for approval, before a public display on Friday.

Mine flooding occurred during the excavations, which caused the flow of accumulated water into a nearby mine.

Five workers managed to escape but ten are missing.

The original plan was to pump water into the mine to allow access for divers and rescue workers. But, after many days of effort, the level suddenly increased.

The Mexican government has sought help from American and German companies to help with relief efforts.

The state of Coahuila supplies nearly all the coal Mexico produces, most of the time under very dangerous safety conditions for miners.

Several accidents have plagued the region, the most notable of which occurred on February 19, 2006: an explosion in a coal mine killed 65 workers. Only two dead bodies were found.