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Mexico finds the remains of some of the 63 miners who died 18 years ago

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Mexico finds the remains of some of the 63 miners who died 18 years ago

Mexican authorities announced Wednesday that they found the remains of some of the 63 miners who were trapped 18 years ago in a coal mine in northern Mexico.

The accident occurred at the Pasta de Conchos mine in the state of Coahuila, which borders Texas, on Feb. 19, 2006. Of the 73 miners on duty, eight survived with serious burns, and two bodies were recovered.

2 MEXICAN COAL MINERS KILLED IN ACCIDENT AT ILLEGAL MINE

The Interior ministry said Wednesday that after years of searching they were able to locate “the first human remains” in one of the mine’s chambers, but they did not specify when the remains were recovered.

The accident is considered one of the biggest mining tragedies in the country.

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Pedestrians walk by a sculpture of a bright red number 65 that pays homage to the coal miners killed in the 2006 Pasta de Conchos mine accident, in Mexico City. Authorities announced on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, the discovery of the skeletal remains of some of the 63 miners who have remained missing for almost two decades. Sixty-five miners died in the explosion, but authorities only found two of the miners’ bodies.  (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

It wasn’t until 2020 when President Andrés Manuel López Obrador made a promise to recover the bodies that the process began. Three consecutive governments opted not to try for the rest, saying it would be too dangerous and costly, with no guarantee of success. But victims’ relatives continued to press authorities on the issue over the years.

López Obrador put the Federal Electricity Commission, the nation’s public utility known as the CFE, in charge of the dig – mining and burning coal to reach the long-buried miners.

In the chamber where remains were found there were 13 miners working the day of the accident, according to the Interior ministry.

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The government indicated it has not yet determined if an explosion caused the mine’s collapse.

The Coahuila state prosecutor’s office, in collaboration with the National Search Commission and the National Institute of Genomics Medicine, will begin analyzing the remains for identification and try to determine the cause of the accident.

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Private flights account for 30% of departures from Oman airport as wealthy evacuate Middle East

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Private flights account for 30% of departures from Oman airport as wealthy evacuate Middle East

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Long border crossings, SUV convoys and six-figure jet charters have become the new escape route out of the Middle East as Operation Epic Fury intensifies, with private flights now accounting for nearly a third of all departures from Oman’s main airport.

FlightRadar24, a real-time flight tracking platform, reported that while Oman continues to be a “vital” hub for evacuation and repatriation flights, private flights accounted for 31% of operations Wednesday at Muscat International Airport.

As of Thursday afternoon, the platform reported more than 30% of all movements at the airport were private flights.

Semafor reported earlier this week that airports in Oman and Saudi Arabia were drawing ultra-wealthy travelers looking to leave the countries.

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Oman continues to be a “vital” hub for evacuation flights at its Muscat International Airport. (Christopher Pike/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

People familiar with the matter told the outlet that private security companies have been booking fleets of SUVs to take people on the 10-hour drive from Dubai to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where private flights are available. 

The clientele evacuating the region are a mix of senior executives at global finance firms and wealthy travelers in the region for business or vacation, according to Semafor.

LIV golfer Jon Rahm, a two-time major winner, was just one of the wealthy who arranged flights amid the turmoil.

MIDDLE EAST CRUISE NIGHTMARE DEEPENS AS IRAN AIRSTRIKES LEAVE PASSENGERS STRANDED

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Rahm arranged a charter flight through his partnership with VistaJet, a private aviation company, to fly the seven stranded LIV golfers and a caddie from Oman to Hong Kong after their flights were canceled.

After a more than four-hour drive to Oman, the crew flew to Hong Kong.

A spokesperson for Air Charter Service, a company that acts as a global broker for private jets and freight transport, told FOX Business the company has arranged more than 10 evacuation flights, with more scheduled, mainly out of Oman with passengers looking to flee Dubai.

AMERICAN STUCK IN MIDDLE EAST ESCAPES IN RACE TO REACH CRITICALLY ILL HUSBAND IN CALIFORNIA

FlightRadar24 shared flights flying in and out of Muscat airport. (@Flightradar24 via X)

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“We evacuated some of our own staff who were just visiting the region, and we arranged transport via the Hatta crossing into Oman from the UAE to get them to Muscat from where they flew out of the region,” the spokesperson said. “The border crossing time at Hatta took around 3–4 hours, as of Sunday, but I suspect this has increased now, as more people look at this option.”

Light flight jet trips from Muscat, Oman, to Istanbul, Turkey, are reportedly going for more than $93,000, according to Forbes, which said the price was about double the usual rate. 

The outlet added the same route on heavy jets can cost up to $140,000.

AMERICANS IN MORE THAN A DOZEN MIDDLE EAST NATIONS URGED TO FLEE

This map shows the targets of Iran’s retaliatory strikes. (Fox News)

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The U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran Saturday, triggering retaliatory attacks targeting countries in the region that host U.S. interests. 

Mora Namdar, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, advised U.S. citizens to leave Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

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The limited number of available aircraft has pushed up prices, as citizens and travelers attempt to flee.

Fox News Digital’s Ryan Morik and Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.

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