(SeaPRwire) –   Authorities reported that a Mexican miner was recovered in a “remarkable rescue” following nearly 14 days of being trapped below ground.

On March 25, a structural collapse led to a dam breach that inundated the El Rosario mine in Sinaloa, northern Mexico, leaving Francisco Zapata Nájera and three colleagues stranded. Although divers found Zapata Nájera on Tuesday, it took rescue crews another 21 hours to navigate the severely flooded sections and reach him.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum shared on X that the “extraordinary efforts of the Mexican Army’s Emergency Response Battalion, combined with the miner’s own faith and endurance, enabled this incredible rescue after 13 days.” She added, “I am sure that every Mexican holds you in their heart.”

Out of the 25 workers on-site during the incident, 21 managed to flee right away. Five days afterward, emergency teams extracted one survivor from a depth of 985 feet.

President Sheinbaum also verified that one miner was discovered deceased, while another remains unaccounted for.

Footage released on Wednesday captured a cheering crowd as Zapata Nájera was brought out of the mine, marking his first time seeing daylight in weeks.

According to officials, his health was stabilized before he was transported via a Mexican Air Force helicopter to a Mazatlán hospital for specialist care.

The most fatal mining disaster in Mexico occurred in February 2006 at the Pasta de Conchos facility in Coahuila, where 65 laborers died in an explosion.

More recently, in August 2022, a flood at the El Pinabete coal mine in Coahuila resulted in the deaths of 10 miners.