Underground efforts make progress in mine rescue

HUNTINGTON, Emery County — A third hole being drilled into a mountain to reach six trapped miners has made it about 515 feet now.

Mine officials said it has about 900 feet to go before it is expected to break through into an area of the collapsed Crandall Canyon Mine, where the six miners may have fled.

This morning, mine officials showed a video that was put together for the families of the trapped miners. It showed the rescue efforts underway inside the mine.

"You can see here, the seismic shock ... has not damaged the roof," mine owner Bob Murray said on the video, using a pole to poke at the roof of the mine.

Heavy machinery was seen on the video moving in and out of the mine, through an area where supports have been installed to keep the mine from collapsing further.

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said a continuous mining machine set up underground has advanced more than 670 feet of the 2,000 feet to where the miners are believed to be. The mine's owner has said it may still be several days before rescuers are able to break through to the area and learn the fates of Kerry Allred, Don Erickson, Luis Hernandez, Carlos Payan, Brandon Phillips and Manuel Sanchez.

The underground rescue efforts have been risky. Recent mountain "bumps," or pressure shifts inside the mine, have forced crews to evacuate several times. Several miners participating in that effort have been so concerned they've requested to be reassigned to other parts of the rescue efforts, said assistant U.S. Labor Secretary Richard Stickler.

Haunting video

This morning, MSHA said a video camera is back down an 8 5/8-inch borehole that was drilled into the cavern from the mountain above. Rescuers are trying to glean any new images that might give them new information about the miners.

"Those additional videos have not given us any more information than what we already received," Stickler told reporters.

Eerie images shown on the last videotape released showed one of the trapped miners' toolbags, hanging from a post. Water dripped into the darkness, a twisted conveyer belt in the background near some rubble. It also gave rescuers some hope — the roof of the mine had not collapsed, giving the trapped miners a 5 1/2-foot space where they could possibly survive.

"There are many reasons to believe they are still alive," said mine owner Bob Murray.