( CNN ) -- Rescue efforts were starting Tuesday night at a mine in northern Mexico where 14 workers were trapped after an explosion , authorities said . A local civil protection official said toxic gases had dissipated enough to allow rescuers to begin exploring the mine 's tunnels , the state-run Notimex news agency reported . Rescuers will work all night at the mine , and Chilean experts will visit the site Wednesday to help , Mexican Labor Secretary Javier Lozano Alarcon said in a post on his Twitter account . An explosion occurred Tuesday morning at the mine , located just outside Sabinas , Mexico , Mayor Jesus Montemayor Garza said . By Tuesday night , authorities had not determined whether the miners inside were alive . A 15-year-old worker was seriously injured in the blast . He was transported to a hospital and had both arms amputated , Mexico 's attorney general 's office said in a statement . Lozano took a critical tone in another Twitter post , as rescue operations began , saying `` having a minor working here '' was a `` fault of the owner of this 'mine . ' '' Lozano said the mine had only been operating for 20 days and had 25 workers who were not unionized . The owner of the mine is a company known as Binsa , the statement from Mexico 's attorney general 's office said . `` It 's very painful for us , '' Montemayor said . `` At this time we do n't know if the 14 miners trapped are dead or alive . It 's going to be a complicated operation because of the way the mine shaft was built . '' The shaft at the mine is 60 meters ( 197 feet ) deep , he said . Sixteen rescuers from the Coahuila state civil protection agency were working at the site , and 20 other rescuers were in the area ready to relieve the first group , the mayor said . Federal authorities are investigating what caused the explosion , the attorney general 's office said . Sabinas is in the coal production center of Mexico and has a museum dedicated to the history of coal mining . Several chapters of that history , however , have been tragic . In 2006 , in the nearby town of San Juan de Sabinas , 65 miners perished after an explosion in the mine where they were working . Explosive gas inside the mine hindered the rescue of the miners at the Pasta de Conchos mine , which the government eventually abandoned . Cristina Auerbach , a representative of an association representing families of miners who were killed in 2006 , said the army had surrounded the area of Tuesday 's blast . Mexican President Felipe Calderon said federal authorities were working with state officials to coordinate the rescue effort . `` We are praying that they are alive , and we are working and doing everything possible that is within our reach to rescue them , '' he said , according to Notimex . CNN 's Rafael Romo contributed to this report .
NEW : Mexico 's labor secretary says Chilean experts will visit the site Wednesday . NEW : In a Twitter post , he says the mine had 25 employees and had operated for 20 days . NEW : Rescuers plan to work all night at the mine , located in northern Mexico . The fate of the miners inside is unknown .