Friday, November 5, 2004

Rescue attempt at Mexican cave abandoned

JOCHICH, Mexico -- Heavy rains filled a cave in southern Mexico where two children had been trapped for days, forcing emergency officials to abandon their rescue operation early today and give up hope that the two brothers were alive.

Five-year-old Pascual Saraos Jimenez and 6-year-old Miguel Saraos Jimenez disappeared Sunday night in the Indian village of Jochich, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of the state capital, Tuxtla Gutierrez.

Emergency crews have been trying to reach them for days, using heavy machinery from Mexico's state-run oil company, Pemex, to widen the mouth of the narrow cavern, estimated at 25 to 40 meters (27 to 43 yards) deep.

Rescue authorities had earlier heard the two boys talking, but eventually their voices disappeared. Heavy rains also hampered the search, and officials said an underground river filled the cave with water.

Authorities planned to drain the cave once it stopped raining, and begin searching for the boys' bodies.

The rescue operation had initially met with resistance from machete-wielding residents of Jochich who thought officials were digging for gold, not just removing earth.

Source: Chron

Mexicans Racing To Rescue 2 Boys Trapped In Cave

Rescue workers from five Mexican states worked frantically Thursday to rescue 5- and 6-year-old brothers who have been trapped for four days in a cave in southern Chiapas state. The workers used oil-drilling equipment to try to widen the mouth of the 80-foot-deep cavern through which the boys disappeared Sunday. Mexican Red Cross Commander Arturo Montero said time was of the essence. Weather conditions were worsening, and the children had been without food and water for four days. Rescue workers had heard the boys speaking to each other in their Tzeltal language.

Thursday, November 4, 2004

Rescue Workers Struggle To Reach 2 Children Trapped Deep In Cave

Rescue teams struggled Wednesday to reach two children who fell into a cave and were trapped about 80 feet deep. Brothers Miguel Saraos, 6, and Pascual, 11, were with their father on a hunting trip Sunday 60 miles northeast of the state capital when they slipped into the cavern, a state civil-defense official said.

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Cave Collapse Kills Woman, 4 Grandkids In Honduras

A woman was killed along with four of her grandchildren when the walls of a cave collapsed as they tried to extract a special white soil used to paint houses during the holiday season, authorities said Friday. A grandson survived. The accident happened Thursday in a hillside cave near the poor farming village of La Cocala, on the border with Nicaragua 60 miles east of Tegucigalpa.

Friday, November 5, 2004

Rescue attempt at Mexican cave abandoned

JOCHICH, Mexico -- Heavy rains filled a cave in southern Mexico where two children had been trapped for days, forcing emergency officials to abandon their rescue operation early today and give up hope that the two brothers were alive.

Five-year-old Pascual Saraos Jimenez and 6-year-old Miguel Saraos Jimenez disappeared Sunday night in the Indian village of Jochich, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of the state capital, Tuxtla Gutierrez.

Emergency crews have been trying to reach them for days, using heavy machinery from Mexico's state-run oil company, Pemex, to widen the mouth of the narrow cavern, estimated at 25 to 40 meters (27 to 43 yards) deep.

Rescue authorities had earlier heard the two boys talking, but eventually their voices disappeared. Heavy rains also hampered the search, and officials said an underground river filled the cave with water.

Authorities planned to drain the cave once it stopped raining, and begin searching for the boys' bodies.

The rescue operation had initially met with resistance from machete-wielding residents of Jochich who thought officials were digging for gold, not just removing earth.

Source: Chron

Mexicans Racing To Rescue 2 Boys Trapped In Cave

Rescue workers from five Mexican states worked frantically Thursday to rescue 5- and 6-year-old brothers who have been trapped for four days in a cave in southern Chiapas state. The workers used oil-drilling equipment to try to widen the mouth of the 80-foot-deep cavern through which the boys disappeared Sunday. Mexican Red Cross Commander Arturo Montero said time was of the essence. Weather conditions were worsening, and the children had been without food and water for four days. Rescue workers had heard the boys speaking to each other in their Tzeltal language.

Thursday, November 4, 2004

Rescue Workers Struggle To Reach 2 Children Trapped Deep In Cave

Rescue teams struggled Wednesday to reach two children who fell into a cave and were trapped about 80 feet deep. Brothers Miguel Saraos, 6, and Pascual, 11, were with their father on a hunting trip Sunday 60 miles northeast of the state capital when they slipped into the cavern, a state civil-defense official said.

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Cave Collapse Kills Woman, 4 Grandkids In Honduras

A woman was killed along with four of her grandchildren when the walls of a cave collapsed as they tried to extract a special white soil used to paint houses during the holiday season, authorities said Friday. A grandson survived. The accident happened Thursday in a hillside cave near the poor farming village of La Cocala, on the border with Nicaragua 60 miles east of Tegucigalpa.