6 missing, 1 dead after mine dam bursts in northern Mexico

MEXICO CITY: Rescuers searching today for seven people missing after a dam containing mineral tailings burst at a mine in the northern Mexican border state of Chihuahua found one body that was not yet identified, state officials said.

Some 150 people joined the search over a 7-mile course through the mountains where the contaminated water rushed after the dam broke yesterday at the Rio Tinto mine complex, the state government said in a statement.

In addition to those missing, two people were reported hospitalized in stable condition.

Gov Javier Corral visited the site today and said the state's priorities were finding the missing and protecting the Tubares river at the bottom of the watershed.

State officials said they were awaiting the arrival of federal environmental officials to evaluate the impact.

Later, Luis Cuauhtemoc Guerra Chacon, state civil protection coordinator, said the mining residue was successfully diverted and had stopped about three miles from the Tubares river.

The water supply was not at risk, according to the statement.

The gold and silver mine is in Cieneguita in the municipality of Urique.

Aerial photographs provided by the state government show a white residue coating a long winding course through the mountains.

Video captured at the scene showed a thunderous torrent of water rushing down a steep mountainside.

The mine's owner, Cluster Minero de Chihuahua, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.