El Rosario, Sinaloa — One of the four trapped miners has been rescued alive after more than 100 hours of search work. Authorities have confirmed the rescue of 44 year old José Alejandro Cástulo Colín from the Santa Fe gold mine.
He was rescued early Monday morning after a collapse left four men trapped. He was underground more than 100 hours before being pulled from the mine.
The National Coordination of Civil Protection confirmed the location and rescue of one of the four workers. The rescue happened shortly after midnight March 30 when emergency brigades managed to locate one minor.
After activating the extraction protocols and bringing him to the surface, he was transferred by helicopter to the General Hospital of Mazatlán.
On March 25, a tailings dam inside the Santa Fe gold mine, operated by the company Industrial Minera Sinaloa in the town of Chele, collapse. According to the Government of Mexico, the collapse happened at 2:00 p.m. March 25 and was reported to municipal authorities at 2:20 p.m. on March 26.
“Upon receiving official notification from state authorities, the Mexican government immediately activated federal response protocols and deployed task forces to the site. Technical reports indicate that 25 workers were on the excavation crew at the time of the geomembrane rupture. Of these, 21 miners escaped unharmed on their own, while four remain trapped,” they reported in a statement.
“The rescue efforts initiated by the mining company are ongoing and have been strategically reinforced by all three levels of government.
“Constant ventilation is maintained inside the mine to ensure life support conditions, the site where the dam failed has been plugged to prevent the entry of more material and removal work is being carried out at the mine entrance for safe entry.
“Simultaneously, a vertical excavation is underway using diamond-tipped drilling equipment, aiming to reach a depth of up to 300 meters to establish contact and deliver vital supplies, while teams prepare for search operations using counter-shafts and rappelling.”
Work continues to rescue the three remaining trapped miners.
