Remains of Mexican coal miner recovered

Remains of Mexican coal miner recovered

The remains of one of 65 coal miners killed nearly a year ago in a mine blast have been recovered, officials in this northern Mexican state said Monday.

The remains of 63 other miners have yet to be found. In June, rescuers found the body of one other miner, but tons of wood, rock and metal have hindered the recovery efforts. The mine has been closed since the explosion on Feb. 19, 2006.

The remains were found early Sunday, half-buried under tons of scattered debris, said Sergio Robles, deputy secretary of civil protection for the state of Coahuila, where the Pasta de Conchos mine is located.

A buildup of methane gas is believed to have cause the underground explosion at the mine near San Juan Sabinas, about 85 miles southwest of the Texas border.

Company officials “express their deepest respect to the families of our deceased colleagues,” said Xavier Garcia de Quevedo, president of Minera Mexico, a subsidiary of mining company Grupo Mexico SA de CV.

Last month, prosecutors in Coahuila state said they would seek to charge 10 mine managers and federal government inspectors with homicide, after investigators allegedly found that they did not correct unsafe conditions detected eight months before the blast.

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