5 to stand trial for Mexico mine blast |
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Wed, 28 Mar 2007 22:51
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PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico (AP) - A judge on Wednesday ordered five mine officials to stand trial for negligent homicide in the deaths of 65 coal miners killed in a gas explosion in northern Mexico last year.Coahuila state Judge Sergio Tamez said lawyers for the five Industrial Minera Mexico employees will have 20 days to present evidence in their favor. He did not name the employees, who obtained an injunction from a separate court that keeps them from being jailed pending their trial.Coahuila state prosecutor Jorge Rios, who asked the judge to issue the arrest orders, said he had found that managers and inspectors at the Pasta de Conchos mine did not fix unsafe conditions detected eight months before the blast.Temperatures in the mine reached as high as 1,110 degrees Fahrenheit following the explosion on Feb. 19, 2006. Rescuers have found the bodies of just two miners because tons of wood, rock and metal, as well as toxic gas, have hindered the recovery of the others.Industrial Minera Mexico is owned by Grupo Mexico SA de CV, a railroad and mining giant with operations in Mexico, Peru, and the United States.Grupo Mexico has insisted the mine met all safety standards and denies that safety precautions were ignored.The company, which has promised to work as long as it takes to recover the remains, does not plan to reopen the mine once recovery efforts end.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Arrests ordered in Mexico mine blast 