Trapped miner rescued from flooded Mexican tunnel after 14 days

The 42-year-old gold miner was standing in waist-high water when rescuers found him in a flooded tunnel. Mexican divers rescue miner trapped underground for 14 days Miner rescued alive after 14 days trapped in collapsed mine Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Francisco Zapata Nájera, wrapped in a thermal blanket, is driven out of the mine on an electric cart after he was rescued 14 days after being trapped underground Trapped miner rescued from flooded Mexican tunnel after 14 days Watch: Miner rescued alive after 14 days trapped in collapsed mine Miner rescued from mine collapse in Mexico Mexican army divers have rescued a miner from a flooded underground tunnel two weeks after he was first trapped. Francisco Zapata Nájera, 42, was stuck 300m (985ft) below ground after an embankment collapsed at the gold mine in the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa. Video of the rescue shows him standing in waist-deep water, telling his rescuers that he never lost faith during his ordeal. The search continues for another miner who is still missing. Twenty-five workers were inside the gold mine when the tailings dam - a structure which holds mining waste - burst on 25 March. Twenty-one managed to get out, but four were trapped. José Alejandro Cástulo was rescued after five days under ground, and another miner died, but it took rescuers a full 13 days to locate Francisco Zapata. Following more than 300 hours of searching, divers finally spotted the blinking of the miner's torch light, which Zapata had turned on and off to alert them to his location. "How are you, how are you?" rescuers asked as they reached him. Once they had identified themselves as specialised military divers, they tell the miner that "your torchlight helped us a lot". "It guided us," one of the divers added. "I didn't lose faith, I didn't lose faith," Zapata told his rescuers. While Zapata appears visibly relieved in the footage, his ordeal was not yet over. Due to the flooding in the tunnel leading to his location, the divers could not immediately extract him. Instead, they left him behind with water, cans of tuna and energy bars - and a promise to return soon. After 20 more hours in which the rescue teams used pumps to lower the water level in the flooded tunnels, Zapata could finally be taken to the surface. Wrapped in a thermal blanket and sitting on an electric cart he emerged from the mine on Wednesday and was taken by helicopter to hospital, where he was able to reunite with his family. Doctors said he was frail but stable and would receive the necessary treatment. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum praised the Mexican army and Zapata's faith and resilience, which she said had made the "astounding rescue" possible. Relatives of miners trapped in a coal mine that collapsed, react as they wait outside the mine, in Sabinas, Coahuila state, Mexico August 14, 2022. Setback for trapped Mexico miners as water rises File image of rusty copper coils from a mine Three workers rescued after two days in collapsed Canada mine Cave explorer Major Shane Lucas shares his experiences traversing the Great Laxey Mine through art. Underground Mann at the Manx Museum's Cabinet of Curiosity explores the work of Major Shane Lucas. Haig Colliery Mining Museum which shut amid financial woes reopens and the first phase is a cafe. Érick Valencia Salazar was among a group of 29 alleged drug lords extradited to the US from Mexico. The final six nations have qualified for the 2026 World Cup - this is your essential lowdown on the expanded edition of the tournament. President Sheinbaum vows to take action after the death of a Mexican last week at a California facility. The crew are safe and will complete their mission, a spokesman for the organisers said. Mexico's navy launches a rescue mission for ships delivering aid to Cuba, strained by food and fuel shortages amid a US embargo.