Families of Mexico Miners Trapped for Weeks Urge Rescue to Move Faster As German, US Companies Asked for Help

Workers at a mining site
Twitter/Protección Civil México

As miners in Mexico have been trapped for nearly two weeks, the country is seeking aid in its rescue efforts by asking U.S.- and Germany-based companies for help.

After failing to in rescue miners who have been trapped for nearly two weeks, Mexico officials are asking Gerrmany- and U.S.-based companies to aid the rescue.

Ten miners have been trapped in the Pinabete mine, located near the state of Coahuila, since a tunnel wall collapsed and flooded the mine on Aug. 3, the BBC reported.

After more than 300 hours of continuous work, Mexican authorities said companies would be contacted "to find out who is the one that can provide us with the best opinion, the broadest, taking into account the conditions of our mine.” 

Rising water levels have been flooding the mine, thwarting attempts to access the trapped individuals, according to Mexican officials. 

Pumps have been installed to extract the water from the Pinabete mine and authorities have worked to close off the Conchas Norte mine, the mine responsible for the surge of water into the Pinabete mine, Reuters reported.

Military divers along with miners and rescue professionals have tried to enter the mine but debris, including planks of wood and overall poor visibility have slowed rescue efforts, according to Reuters.

After being trapped for roughly two weeks, the families of the miners are urging officials to work quicker to get their loved ones to safety. 

"It's all going so slowly ... They had to get them out when they still could," Erika Escobar, wife of trapped miner Hugo Tiijerina, told Reuters. She worried that officials may have lost their chance at finding the miners when the water levels were lower.

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