Mexican authorities held little hope Wednesday of finding more survivors of a mine blast in the northern state of Coahuila, where five miners were found dead, according to dpa. Nine workers remained missing Wednesday, but Mexican Labour Minister Javier Lozano made it clear that they are unlikely to be found alive. "It would be really irresponsible to generate false expectations at this point after such as brutal explosion in such a small mine," Lozano said at the scene. Rescue teams resumed work Wednesday, after a high concentration of dangerous methane gas forced them to stop for several hours overnight. The accumulation of gas had caused the blast early Tuesday in the coal mine in Sabinas. The small, precarious mine has a narrow, 58-metre-deep shaft from which issue four horizontal tunnels extend about 20 metres. This was the third accident at the site, which had apparently been operational for barely three weeks and reportedly did not comply with safety regulations. On February 19, 2006, 65 workers were trapped in a coal mine at Pasta de Conchos, Coahuila. Only two bodies were recovered, and the mine was closed, as authorities feared further explosions. The bodies of the 63 remaining miners were never retrieved.
