2008 Woodie Awards
No sign of 6 miners after collapse in Utah
Issue date: 8/20/07 Section: News
HUNTINGTON, Utah (AP) - Family members gathered at a church Sunday to watch video recorded deep in a mine as rescuers probe for six miners trapped in a collapse nearly two weeks ago.
Four holes drilled more than 1,500 feet into the mountainside have given officials limited access to the Crandall Canyon mine. Rescuers banged on the drill bit and set off explosives on Saturday, hoping to elicit a response from the men, yet their efforts have been met with silence.
The images from a video camera dropped in the fourth hole were analyzed and officials planned a news conference to discuss the results later on Sunday, said Richard Kulczewski, a U.S. Department of Labor spokesman. He said rescuers also were to drop another camera down the hole.
Despite the lack of evidence that the miners have survived since the initial Aug. 6 collapse, drillers would start on a fifth hole hoping to hit where the men may be, said Richard Stickler, head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Underground tunneling has been halted since a mountain "bump" Thursday killed three rescuers and injured six others.
MSHA summoned experts from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, West Virginia University and private engineering firms in the hope that they can develop a safer way of tunneling toward the trapped miners. Their first meeting at the mine started Sunday morning.
Stickler acknowledged the challenge of working on a mountain where there have been 23 seismic tremors since the initial collapse.
"They continue to occur and there's no way of knowing when they're going to stop," he said. "We have never seen a situation like we have at this operation."
Rob Moore, vice president of Murray Energy Corp., co-owner of the Crandall Canyon mine, remained optimistic.
"This is an effort that consumes every second of our time," Moore said. "Make no mistake about it: This continues to be a rescue effort. We have encountered setbacks. We've incurred losses, but we have not and will not give up hope."
Four holes drilled more than 1,500 feet into the mountainside have given officials limited access to the Crandall Canyon mine. Rescuers banged on the drill bit and set off explosives on Saturday, hoping to elicit a response from the men, yet their efforts have been met with silence.
The images from a video camera dropped in the fourth hole were analyzed and officials planned a news conference to discuss the results later on Sunday, said Richard Kulczewski, a U.S. Department of Labor spokesman. He said rescuers also were to drop another camera down the hole.
Despite the lack of evidence that the miners have survived since the initial Aug. 6 collapse, drillers would start on a fifth hole hoping to hit where the men may be, said Richard Stickler, head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Underground tunneling has been halted since a mountain "bump" Thursday killed three rescuers and injured six others.
MSHA summoned experts from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, West Virginia University and private engineering firms in the hope that they can develop a safer way of tunneling toward the trapped miners. Their first meeting at the mine started Sunday morning.
Stickler acknowledged the challenge of working on a mountain where there have been 23 seismic tremors since the initial collapse.
"They continue to occur and there's no way of knowing when they're going to stop," he said. "We have never seen a situation like we have at this operation."
Rob Moore, vice president of Murray Energy Corp., co-owner of the Crandall Canyon mine, remained optimistic.
"This is an effort that consumes every second of our time," Moore said. "Make no mistake about it: This continues to be a rescue effort. We have encountered setbacks. We've incurred losses, but we have not and will not give up hope."
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