MONTERREY, Mexico - Three workers were killed and another 11 were trapped and feared dead after an explosion on Tuesday at a small coal mine in northern Mexico.
Workers lost contact with their colleagues immediately after the explosion in the desert state of Coahuila near Texas, where small-scale coal mining is a risky way of life in an impoverished region.
Late on Tuesday, rescue workers found three dead miners after they went down into the mine to check if a rescue effort was possible given the high levels of methane and the mine's simple wooden structure surrounded a small metal derrick.
