No hope for miners

last updated 8 January 2015

San Juan de Sabinas, Mexico

Rescuers have abandoned efforts to save 65 men trapped inside a northern Mexico coal mine a week after a massive explosion trapped them more than 150 yards underground. An analysis of air in the mine showed that it was a toxic mix of methane and carbon monoxide, with “the presence of oxygen almost nil,” said Xavier Garcia, president of Industrial Minera Mexico, a subsidiary of the mine’s owner, Grupo Mexico. Relatives of some of the victims accused mine bosses of giving families false hope for days after officials knew the air underground was poisoned. “They played with us like puppets,” said Aida Farias, whose husband, Elias Valero, was missing.