In brief
After 14 days of being trapped 300 meters underground due to a collapsed embankment at a gold mine in Sinaloa, miner Francisco Zapata Nájera was rescued by military divers. Amid waist-deep water, he never lost faith and utilized his torch to guide rescuers to his location. Despite his relief at being found, Zapata faced an additional 20 hours of waiting before they could safely extract him due to flooding. He was finally brought to the surface and taken to the hospital, where he is reported in stable condition.
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 that 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 underground, while 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 identified themselves as specialized military divers, they told him, your torchlight helped us a lot. It guided us, one added.
I didn't lose faith, I didn't lose faith, Zapata told his rescuers.
His ordeal was not yet over; due to the flooding in the tunnel leading to him, the divers could not immediately extract him. They left him behind with water, cans of tuna, energy bars, and a promise to return soon.
After 20 more hours, during which rescue teams used pumps to lower the water level, Zapata was finally brought to the surface.
Wrapping him in a thermal blanket, he emerged on Wednesday and was taken by helicopter to the hospital, where he was able to reunite with his family. Doctors reported he was frail but stable and would receive the necessary treatment.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum praised the Mexican army for their efforts and highlighted Zapata's faith and resilience, attributing them as key factors to the astounding rescue.
