A gold miner has been heroically rescued after being trapped for 2 weeks underground. As reported by People, the incident occurred after a tunnel flooded, leaving 42-year-old Francisco Zapata Nájera stranded.
The Sinaloa State, Mexico native was going about his daily business mining gold at a Sinaloa gold mine when a dam tragically burst. It led to the only way up being flooded, leaving Zapata as well as three others almost 1,000 feet underground.
A combined 300 hours over 13 days was put into the search and rescue operation for Zapata. Even when they had found him, rescue divers couldn't bring him back up because of the water levels. They had to leave him with food and drink, before using pumps to lower the water to a safe level.
When he was found, he was dehydrated, and described as "frail but stable". He said in an interview that he "didn't lose faith" throughout the whole ordeal.
The fates of the other miners have been unfortunately inconsistent. Whilst José Alejandro Cástulo was rescued after five days, another miner tragically died. Fortunately, his body has now been recovered, per the outlet. But, the fourth miner is still missing, and the search and rescue operation for him is still underway.
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The Mexican President Has Praised Zapata for His "Faith"
Zapata has received a lot of praise for his resilience during the gruelling 2-week stint of isolation. Even the Mexican President, Claudia Sheinbaum, has commended him for how he handled it all.
"The exceptional members of the Mexican Army Emergency Response Battalion, the faith and resilience of a miner made this amazing rescue possible after 13 days. I'm sure that each and every Mexican has our hearts with you," Sheinbaum
The video she posted shows the rescue operation underway, showing Zapata being brought out of what appears to be a mine entrance in a vehicle. He is followed by a team of helmeted crew members.
This is a crazy situation. We are glad Zapata is okay. We can't imagine how he must have felt returning to the surface after such an ordeal.
