Miner Rescued After 13 Days in Flooded Mexico Mine

A 42-year-old miner was rescued after spending nearly two weeks trapped underground in a flooded gold mine in northern Mexico, in a grueling operation that highlighted the dangers of the country's mining industry.

Francisco Zapata Nájera was pulled to safety on Wednesday from the El Rosario mine in the Sinaloa state community of El Rosario, following a tailings dam collapse on March 25 that flooded sections of the underground tunnels. The incident trapped four miners while 21 others escaped. Officials attributed the breach to a structural failure in the dam, which holds mining waste and unleashed water that blocked escape routes about 300 meters below the surface.

Rescue teams, including military divers from the Mexican Army's Emergency Response Battalion, worked around the clock for more than 300 hours. They first located Zapata Nájera on Tuesday after spotting flashes from his helmet light signaling his position in waist-deep water. Divers provided him with water, food and reassurance, but heavily flooded passages prevented an immediate extraction. Crews then pumped out water for about 20 hours to clear a safe path, allowing rescuers to reach him in a submerged corner amid...