Fatal blast traps Mexican miners

4 May 2011 Last updated at 06:46 GMT Families have gathered at the mine where fears are growing for the men trapped underground Four workers have been killed and 10 are trapped underground after a blast at a coal mine in northern Mexico.

Officials say the size of the gas blast means the chances of finding any survivors are slim.

They said the blast was so strong that a teenage boy working at the mine's surface lost an arm.

Rescue workers have been unable to make contact with the men because there are high levels of dangerous methane gas in the mine shaft.

As tearful family members gathered near the entrance of the mine, the authorities tried to extract the underground gas using machines.

Labour Secretary Javier Lozano confirmed that four bodies had been found and that "the outlook is very bad".

"The truth is that it does not allow us to hold out much hope," he said.

Mr Lozano said the teenager who lost his arm had apparently been employed at the site illegally, the Associated Press reports.

Jesus Montemayor, mayor of the nearby town of Sabinas, said the blast had been felt for miles around, Reuters reports.

President Felipe Calderon has called on Mexicans to "pray that they are still alive".

He said his government was helping the local authorities in their rescue efforts.

The small artisanal mine, close to the border with the US, had been operating for less than a month.

It was one of the many small mining operations which are vital to the local economy in poorer regions.

In 2006, more than 65 miners died in a similar accident in the same region in one of Mexico's worst mining disasters.

In a statement, the Mexican mine workers union criticised the "totally unsafe conditions" in the country's mines.

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Mother of fatal crash girl dies

29 April 2011 Last updated at 11:54 The collision closed the road between Gilwern and Brynmawr The mother of a six-year-old girl killed in a road crash on the A465 Heads of the Valleys road in south Wales has now also died.

Stephanie Curtis, 35, from Blaenau Gwent, was driving a blue Peugeot which was in collision with a silver Mercedes on Thursday.

Ffion Elizabeth Merrifield died after the crash while her mother died later in hospital.

Two women in the Mercedes both suffered minor injuries.

The crash happened on the eastbound carriageway between Brynmawr, Blaenau Gwent and Gilwern, Monmouthshire at about 1100 BST.

Ms Curtis died of her injuries at the University of Wales Hospital in Cardiff.

The mother and daughter were from the Nantyglo area of Blaenau Gwent.

All involved in the crash were initially taken to Nevill Hall Hospital, Abergavenny.

Gwent Police said the Mercedes was being driven by a 69-year-old from Gilwern. Both she and her passenger are still in hospital.

The A465 was closed in both directions between Gilwern and Conoco roundabout at Brynmawr while emergency services were in attendance.

Gwent Police is investigating the collision and anyone who may have witnessed the collision is asked to contact the force's collision investigation unit on 01633 642404 or by dialling 101.

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