14 bodies recovered from Mexican mine blast

SAN JUAN DE SABINAS, Mexico (AP) — Rescue crews recovered the last of 14 bodies early Sunday from a coal mine wracked by a gas explosion last week, while Labor Secretary Javier Lozano called for an overhaul of mine safety in Mexico.

Mexican officials said the blast Tuesday was caused by a buildup of gas. The national mine workers union said the mine's work force was not unionized and accused the government of allowing mines to operate with unsafe conditions.

The explosion was so powerful it also seriously injured a teenager who reportedly lost an arm as he was worked on the surface outside the mine. Lozano said earlier that the boy's employment at the mine was an apparent violation of labor laws.

In announcing that the last body had been recovered, Lozano said his ministry would embark on a project to make sure all mining companies follow the law and provide safe conditions for their workers.

"We want clean coal, coal without blood," he said.

A similar blast caused by a methane gas buildup killed 65 miners in February 2006 at Mexico's Pasta de Conchos coal mine in nearby San Juan de Sabinas.

Ramiro Flores Morales, a state legislator who says he is the city's local record keeper, said there have been dozens of explosions and deaths for various reasons in the area's coal mines over more than two decades, though there was no independent confirmation of his statistics.

Since the Pasta de Conchos tragedy, Flores said, the government "has promised to increase the number of inspectors ? to increase safety measures and to provide training for miners, and none of this has happened."

Instead, Flores said, two things remain constant: "The cry and demand from loved ones to recover the bodies for proper burial and the fact that mining continues to be the only local source of employment."

President Felipe Calderon was expected to travel on Monday to the mine, which is about 85 miles (135 kilometers) southwest of Eagle Pass, Texas, to offer condolences and government support to the families.

Several top officials in his government were expected to visit as well, including the secretary of energy and the federal prosecutor for labor violations.

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