Mexico coal mine accident kills six in Coahuila

Six miners have died in an accident at an underground coal mine in Mexico.

The owners of the mine in the northern state of Coahuila said the men were trapped when 100 tonnes of coal and rock collapsed.

Officials said one miner who had been cut off by the rockfall had been rescued with minor injuries.

The accident happened not far from El Progreso mine, where seven members of the same family died in a methane gas blast last week.

The accident happened at 10:15 local time (15:15GMT) at Mina 7, a coal mine near the town of Muzquiz.

About 200 people were working in the mine at the time, most of whom were quickly evacuated.

The company running the mine, Altos Hornos de Mexico, said the rockfall had been caused by "a pocket of methane gas".

Coahuila State Security official Jorge Luis Moran Delgado denied reports the rockfall had been caused by a gas explosion.

On 25 July, seven miners, all from the same family, were killed in a mine in the same area after methane gas caused a tunnel to collapse 75m (246ft) underground.

According to a pressure group founded by relatives of mining victims, 30 people died in accidents in Coahuila's coal mines in 2011.

The group, Relatives of Pasta Concho, says at least 50,000 people work in Coahuila's coal mines, many of which are unregulated and lack the necessary security measures.