Mexican Miners' Kin Plead For Info

As rescue crews tunneled through dirt and rocks for a third day Tuesday, officials insisted they still had no information about whether the 65 workers were dead or alive — despite urgent pleas from distraught relatives desperate for any news.

Officials have said that while there was still a chance of finding survivors from Sunday's explosion at the Pasta de Conchos mine, prospects were slim. Searchers who worked through the night had not encountered any sign of the miners.

"The situation is difficult but I can't say if the whole mine is contaminated and there are no survivors," said Ruben Escudero, administrator of the Pasta de Conchos mine in northern Mexico where a gas explosion occurred in the pre-dawn hours Sunday.

Relatives, who have been camped outside the mine, pleaded for more information and were not reassured.

"Just tell us and get it over with," said Maria Trinidad Cantu, who has been camping out the site in hope of news about her son Raul Villasana, 32. "Why don't you tell us the truth? If it was something awful, OK, but we are strong enough to take it."

Jesus de Leon, 50, whose 35-year old son is trapped underground, said the wait was unbearable.

"If the rescue workers have advanced just one more meter we need to know about it," De Leon said Monday. "They don't tell us anything."

Some relatives prayed with priests and pastors who joined them at the entrance to the mine, which CBS News correspondent Lee Cowan describes as "decrepit-looking." It is located near the town of San Juan de Sabinas, about 85 miles southwest of Eagle Pass, Texas. Women wept openly and swayed with their arms in the air and men wiped tears from their eyes.

"We are waiting for a miracle from God," said Norma Vitela, whose trapped husband, Jose Angel Guzman, had previously told her of problems with gas in the mine. She said the father of four, who earns about $75 a week, could not afford to quit.

Federal Labor Secretary Francisco Salazar arrived at the mine late Monday and assured relatives the government was using all available resources to rescue survivors.

U.S. mining experts were to arrive on Tuesday to assist in the relief effort, said Juan Rebolledo, vice president of international affairs for mine owner Grupo Mexico.

"Time is our enemy again the lack of communication and the lack of the ability to know where the location is are the two strongest factors that give us concern," Davitt McAteer, former head of the U.S. Mine Safety Health Administration, told CBS News.

The trapped men had carried only six hours of oxygen when the explosion occurred about 600 feet underground, but officials said they believed a ventilation system that uses huge fans to pump in fresh air and suck out dangerous gases was still working.

Even so, they could not be certain the oxygen was arriving to where the miners were trapped.

Rebolledo said oxygen tanks also were scattered throughout the mine, but it was impossible to know if the trapped miners had access to any of them.

After 40 hours of digging, rescue teams had reached 450 yards into the mine, about 50 yards from where two conveyor-belt operators were believed to be trapped, mine administrator Ruben Escudero said. The others were thought to be trapped as far as one to three miles from the mine's entrance.

Escudero said rescuers wore oxygen masks and avoided using electric or gas-powered machinery because of the presence of explosive gases. Doctors were on the site to examine rescue workers as they emerged from their eight-hour shifts in the tunnels.

At least a dozen miners near the entrance were hurt, but they escaped, most with burns and bruises. Only two had serious injuries, reports Cowan.

Sergio Robles, director of emergency services for Coahuila state, said the roof of the mine was better reinforced after 400 yards, giving rescuers hope they might be able to advance more quickly. He said if there were survivors, they could be trying to dig their way out.

Family members spent a second night outside the pit, huddling near bonfires and wrapped in blankets to protect against the bitter cold. Some pitched tents, while others slept on small cots or upright in plastic chairs.

"The only thing we want is information and all they tell us is that they don't know," said a sobbing Yadira Gallegos, whose 28-year-old brother-in-law, Jesus Martinez, had just finishing his first week at the mine.

The explosion occurred around 2:30 a.m. Sunday as the miners were in the middle of their overnight shift.

Consuelo Aguilar, a spokeswoman for the National Miners' Union, has called for an investigation into the cause of the explosion and the responsibility of Grupo Mexico officials. She said there had been concern over safety conditions in the company's mines in the past.

Rebolledo said safety conditions at the mine met Mexican government requirements as well as international standards, "but accidents can always happen."

"Mining accidents are not uncommon here," reports Cowan. "The worst in recent memory was one in 1988 that killed 34 miners."

As well as mining coal, Grupo Mexico is the world's third-largest copper producer, with operations in Mexico, Peru, and the United States.