No signs of life from miners trapped in Utah: officials
Pastor Dale Morgan
No signs of life from miners trapped in Utah: officials*
HUNTINGTON, United States (AFP) - - A microphone lowered deep into a
Utah mountain where six miners were believed to be trapped found no
signs of life, but officials said Friday they had not given up hope the
men were still alive.
A 6.5 centimeter (2.5-inch) drill late Thursday broke into the cavern
some 1,800 feet (550 meters) underground at the Genwal Mine in Crandall
Canyon, where the miners were presumed to be working when a tunnel
collapsed on Monday.
However a listening device lowered into the narrow shaft shortly after
drilling was completed on Thursday was met by an eerie silence.
Three initial air quality readings indicated oxygen levels of around 20
percent -- enough to sustain life, officials said.
But at a Friday morning briefing, mine safety officials readings taken
later had returned dangerously low oxygen levels of around seven percent
-- a discrepancy they were unable to explain.
Richard Stickler, the head of the federal Mine Safety and Health
Administration, said the low oxygen levels and lack of signs of life
could mean the drill had drifted off course and struck the wrong chamber.
While Stickler acknowledged the failure to establish contact with the
miners and low oxygen readings were disappointing, he said rescuers
remained optimistic of finding the missing men alive.
"There's no reason to lose hope," Stickler said. "There are certainly
possibilities these miners are still alive, because we don't know for
sure where this drill hole bored in.
"The family members are all disappointed by the information and we would
have hoped to have had more positive information at this time. But their
spirits are still up and they have hope. We all should have hope."
The microphone would be removed and a surveying instrument lowered in
its place in an effort to get a clearer idea of where in the mine the
drill had struck.
Meanwhile a second, wider 21.5 centimeter (8.5 inch) drill, which has
been churning towards the chamber, was expected to reach the cavity late
Friday.
The wider shaft will allow for food and supplies to be passed to the men
if required.
A state-of-the-art high resolution camera will also be deployed, giving
rescuers their first opportunity to make a visual assessment of the
conditions within the collapsed mine.
The camera will give rescuers a 360-degree view of the cavity for 100 feet.
Robert Murray, of the mine's owner and operator Utah American Energy,
has warned that even if contact is made with the miners it will stake
several days to clear rubble and pull the men out.
While Murray has remained adamant that Monday's cave-in was caused by an
earthquake, the US Geological Survey has said that the collapse was
responsible for seismic readings that initially suggested a 4.0 quake.
The Utah drama has revived memories of the doomed effort to reach 13
miners who were trapped after an explosion at the Sago Mine in West
Virginia in January 2006.
Twelve miners died and only one survived after being buried underground
for 41 hours.