Mexico miners trapped after methane blast

on 25/07/2012 19:03:42

Seven miners are trapped underground after a methane gas explosion at a small coal mine near Mexico's northern border.

The top police official in northern Coahuila state said rescue efforts are under way at the mine, about 150km south-west of the border city of Eagle Pass, Texas.

The name of the mine and the company that operates it are still not known.

Methane gas is a frequent hazard in coal mines, especially the kind of primitive, small-scale mines that dot Coahuila state.

Sixty-five miners died in an explosion at another Coahuila coal mine in 2006.