Rescue attempts under way to reach trapped miners

HUNTINGTON, Emery County — Rescuers trying to reach six trapped miners 1,500 feet underground in a collapsed mine shaft have encountered some new problems.

"There has been seismic activity," said assistant Labor Secretary Richard Stickler. "Bumps, movements of the mountain. This puts a safety hazard to the rescue workers."

It will take at least three days to reach the miners trapped inside the Crandall Canyon Mine.

"I don't know whether those men are alive or dead — only the Lord knows that," said Bob Murray, the president of Murray Energy Corp., which owns the mine.

Meanwhile, more miners are back inside the Crandall Canyon Mine to try to assess the situation and make progress on the rescue. Six mine rescue teams are on hand to help out.

About 22 miners are expected to go underground today in an attempt to rescue the men, MSHA said.

"Miners continue to work round the clock to locate the missing miners," said Amy Louviere, an MSHA spokeswoman in Washington, D.C. "They are working in 12-hour shifts to rebuild damaged ventilation controls."

About 40 miners are trying to repair a ventilation system that may have been damaged when the roof fell in the Crandall Canyon Mine.

"They're still continuing to remove loose materials to make their way to the miners," Louviere told the Deseret Morning News this afternoon.

Miners on their way out of the canyon were instructed not to speak with reporters as they piled out of black transport trucks. Two miners with blackened faces were silent as they climbed into their car and drove off. One man in a camouflage hat would only say that he was "tired" after working all night.

Today, a helicopter drill will attempt to drill two holes, one 2-inches in diameter, through a mountain to provide fresh air and a way of communicating with the miners. A road is also being cleared to try another drilling route. This morning, workers still had 4,000 feet of road to go, or about half the total distance of the road.

Rescue equipment arrives

Ten miners were in the middle of a 12-hour shift early Monday morning when a mine shaft collapsed, trapping six of the men. The other four were able to escape and are now helping in rescue efforts. It's believed the six miners are trapped 1,500 feet underground, 2,000 feet from the nearest access and nearly 4 miles from where they entered the mine.

The U.S. Air Force flew in sonar equipment overnight to Grand Junction, Colo., as part of a process to search for signs of life in the mine. At some point today, it's expected that dynamite charges will be set off some distance away from the six remaining miners — who have been trapped by a collapse in the mine since just before 3 a.m. Monday.

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