18 years after the tragic explosion in Pasta de Conchos, which left 63 miners buried, the federal government confirmed the discovery of the first human remains in the coal mine and indicated that the protocols for their identification will begin immediately.
The widows and relatives of the workers were notified by federal authorities of the location of the remains in a gallery located 146 meters deep, where it is recorded that 13 miners were on the day of the accident that occurred on February 19, 2006. according to the logs of the time, in Sabinas, Coahuila.
Four years after the rescue work began on instructions from President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, it was possible to reach one of the points where the logs indicate that 13 miners were working in that area on the day of the accident.
said the ministries of the Interior (SG) and of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS) in a joint statement with the Federal Electricity Commission.
On February 21, 2006, family members listened to the Secretary of Labor, Francisco Javier Salazar. Photo Marco Peláez
However, federal authorities emphasized that the number of people to whom said human remains belong is still unknown.
They stressed that, from now on, the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Coahuila, in collaboration with the National Search Commission and the National Institute of Genomic Medicine, will begin the protocols to identify the human remains, as well as the expert reports that will determine the causes. of the accident.
The agencies detailed that as part of the findings, various work objects were also located and clarified that at the aforementioned point of the mine it was not identified that an explosion had taken place
as indicated at the time by the corresponding authorities.
A month after the tragedy, miners participated in rescue work for their colleagues. Photo María Meléndrez Parada
Separately, the organization Familia Pasta de Conchos considered the discovery as an achievement of the current administration and highlighted that it confirms that we were right
.
Likewise, he called on the authorities involved in the rescue so that the remains located are adequately protected and their prompt identification is guaranteed in a scientific manner, giving certainty to the relatives and that their restitution is carried out in a manner worthy.
Litigation before the IACHR
The organization indicated that it will continue to promote the litigation of the case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which is in process due to the responsibility of the Mexican State for violating the rights to life, integrity and protection before the law, as well as economic and social rights. social benefits to the detriment of deceased workers.
