The coal mine disaster of La Espuela, in Múzquiz Municipality,

Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...

, happened at 1:30 p.m. January 23, 2002, and caused the death of 13

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

s. The disaster was caused by flooding of the shaft. Without the ability to flee, the miners drowned in minutes. According to Dick Reavis, "The mine's operator had failed, as laws require, to map the tunnels that his men made. Their pneumatic picks struck into the flooded tunnel of an abandoned mine, and they were helpless as the water rose because the motor on the pocito's only

winch A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a spool (or drum) attache ...

- the winch that raises and lowers the bote - wouldn't come to life."findarticles.com

References

2002 disasters in Mexico Coal mining disasters in Mexico 2002 in Mexico 2002 mining disasters {{disaster-stub