Ten Mexican miners remain trapped in coal mine after three rescued

Authorities are pictured at the premises of a coal mine which collapsed leaving miners trapped, in Sabinas, in Coahuila state, Mexico, August 3, 2022. REUTERS/Antonio Ojeda

Rescuers in Mexico, including dozens of soldiers, were working desperately on Wednesday to reach ten miners trapped in a flooded coal mine following the collapse of an inner wall, the ministry handling the disaster said.

Three miners had been rescued and hospitalized, the Security and Citizen Protection Ministry said in an update on the rescue efforts at the mine in the Sabinas municipality of the northern state of Coahuila.

Television footage showed family members outside the mine clamoring for information on the missing men.

The relative of a miner wipes the tears from her eyes while waiting for information outside the premises of a coal mine which collapsed leaving miners trapped, in Sabinas, in Coahuila state, Mexico, August 3, 2022. REUTERS/Antonio Ojeda

"I hope we find them safe," Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said earlier on Twitter. Lopez Obrador had said nine miners were likely to be trapped, but authorities revised the number later.

Some 92 soldiers were working at the scene, as well as specialists and rescue dogs, the president said.

The Labor Ministry said it had not received any complaints about safety at the mine, which began operations in January.

Soldiers keep watch at the facilities of a coal mine that collapsed leaving miners trapped, in Sabinas, in Coahuila state, Mexico, August 3, 2022. REUTERS/Antonio Ojeda

(Reporting by Carolina Pulice, Adriana Barrera and Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle, Sandra Maler & Simon Cameron-Moore)

Soldiers arrive at the facilities of a coal mine which collapsed leaving miners trapped, in Sabinas, in Coahuila state, Mexico, August 3, 2022. REUTERS/Antonio Ojeda