The recovery work began after the 65 miners were declared dead one week after an explosion trapped them 150 meters below ground in the Pasta de Conchos mine in northern Mexico.
Mine owner Grupo Mexico, said holes had been drilled to extract methane gas which had built up inhigh concentration inside the mine's collapsed tunnels raising fears of an explosion.
Workers were "de-gasifying the mine" to make the air breathable so the bodies can be recovered, Juan Rebolledo, Grupo Mexico vice president of international relations, told reporters.
The miners were declared dead on Sunday by mine manager Javier Garcia de Quevedo who said conditions in the mine were such that the men could not be alive.
Relatives had kept a vigil outside the mine since the men were trapped underground early on February 19 when an explosion caused a cave-in in a two-kilometer-long tunnel.
A high concentration of methane had caused an explosion that generated temperatures of 600 degrees Centigrade and a huge blast wave. Because of the severity of the explosion, the bodies of the victims may not be found.
Throughout the week rescuers dug with shovels, picks and bare hands, fearing that heavy equipment could trigger further collapse or gas explosions.
Authorities said a commission, including relatives of the victims, would be established to determine the causes of the blast.
Mexico's Labor Minister Francisco Salazar said he would ensure that Grupo Mexico pays promised indemnities to victims' families totaling more than US$70,000 for each dead miner, plus scholarships for their children.
The miners earned about 57 dollars a week working in the Pasta de Conchos mine, located just outside San Juan de Sabinas, a town of about 40,000 people in Coahuila state, near the southern US border.