New drill may reach trapped Utah miners Friday night

HUNTINGTON, Emery County — A drill boring a hole nearly 9 inches in size may reach six trapped miners tonight.

The drill was last reported to have been at a depth of 1,644 feet. It needs to reach 1,886 feet — where the miners are believed to be trapped inside the caved-in mine.

"That should happen sometime in the wee hours tonight," said Bob Murray, the president of Murray Energy, which owns the Crandall Canyon Mine.

When they reach the cavern that the trapped miners are believed to be in, federal authorities said, they will drop a high-resolution camera inside.

"It's our plan to withdraw the drill steel and the bit and drop an audio-video camera down the hole, where we will be able to have visibility for up to 100 feet," said assistant U.S. Labor Secretary Richard Stickler, head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

"We will be able to see significant detail. This will enable us to see the conditions underground," he said.

It may also finally provide some answers about whether the miners are alive or dead.

A 2 1/2-inch hole was drilled until this morning. That hole went nearly 1,900 feet underground to where six miners are trapped and drifted 87 feet, federal authorities said today. A microphone dropped down to listen for human noise did not work because its line broke, Murray said.

Despite the setback, underground efforts to reach the miners are advancing, officials said. MSHA said rescuers have not noticed any new "bounce" activity inside the mine. "Bouncing" is pressure shifts that can often trigger collapses inside a mine.

Tonight, MSHA said, underground rescue crews had moved 460 feet from the mine entrance, putting them roughly 1,800 feet from where the miners are believed to be. At that pace, crews likely will reach the area in four to five days.

Seismic movement underground has mostly subsided, said Stickler, although there's constant noise coming from the roof of the mine shaft as the mountain continues to settle.

The trapped miners have been identified as:

• Kerry Allred,

• Don Erickson,

• Luis Hernandez,

• Carlos Payan,

• Brandon Phillips,