Utah Mine Rescuers Halt Search After 3 Deaths
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August 18, 2007
Utah Mine Rescuers Halt Search After 3 Deaths
By DAN FROSCH and N. R. KLEINFIELD
HUNTINGTON, Utah, Aug. 17 - A sense of doleful finality settled on
Friday over the quivering mountain here that swallowed six coal miners
11 days ago.
Underground search efforts intended to find them were indefinitely
suspended after crumbling walls in the Crandall Canyon Mine killed two
rescue workers and a federal mine inspector on Thursday evening.
With grim-faced authorities baffled over when, or if, fresh teams can
be sent in, the reality sank in among the hushed residents here that
the six men, trapped 1,800 feet beneath the surface, might never be
found.
"People here are just sick in the stomach about all of this," said
Joanne Carpenter, whose son was good friends with the son of Dale
Black, a killed rescuer.
Ms. Carpenter and a handful of other residents gathered at the
Huntington Library, one of several places around town that have become
informal gathering places in the last 11 days. The cave-in on
Thursday, in which six other rescuers were injured, one critically,
was seen as a final affront to an extensive operation plagued by a
mountain that has refused to sit still.
Precipitated by a new succession of earth movements, the collapse
raised questions about not only the safety of the mine, but also the
wisdom of the treacherous rescue operation.
About 130 people have been involved in the rescue. At one point, 12
had requested to be reassigned from inside the mine to a different
area of the operation because of the extreme hazards.
Others had volunteered to help. Cecil E. Roberts, president of the
United Mine Workers of America, issued a statement saying the deaths
were "needless and preventable."
A spokesman for the union, Phil Smith, said that the plan to mine the
mountain should not have been approved by the federal government, and
that the rescue effort "should not have moved forward because the
mountain was in the process of collapsing and was clearly dangerous."
At a news conference almost drowned out by explosive thunder and heavy
rain, state and federal authorities appeared shocked by the turn of
events.
The director of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, Richard E.
Stickler, said that the strongest available support structure had been
put in place to protect the rescuers, including fencing and steel
buttresses, but that "obviously it was not adequate."
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said he did not want additional teams to descend
into the mine until, and if, it could be adequately fortified,
although drilling efforts from the surface were to continue.
"We have already experienced enough in terms of pain," Mr. Huntsman
said. He ordered flags in the state flown at half-staff.
The governor promised to conduct an "unprecedented and comprehensive"
investigation of the disaster and rescue work and to seek to improve
mine conditions in Utah and throughout the country.
The people of Huntington, who the night before had been high spirited
at a benefit concert for the trapped miners, were withdrawn and
somber.
"Everyone is affected here," said Patsy Stoddard, editor of The Emery
County Progress newspaper and a childhood friend of Mr. Black. "They
are all like brothers. If you're in a coal mine 24 hours a day, you
form lifelong friendships."
Along the main artery of Huntington, some residents now saw the mine
as almost cursed.
The collapse on Thursday, about 6:35 p.m., swiftly deflated the
guardedly hopeful mood buoyed by word earlier that noise had been
detected underground.
That hope was jolted by the sight of ambulances, lights ablaze but
sirens strangely silent, hurtling along the road that twists through
the jagged tree-topped mountains and the sight of medics ministering
to injured workers.
Maria Lerma rushed up to sheriff's deputies seeking word of her
husband, a member of the rescue mission. Ms. Lerma and her daughter
burst into tears when the authorities informed them that he was alive
and unhurt.
In describing the night's accident, Mr. Stickler, the federal
official, said tons of rock had settled over the mine tunnel in what
is called a mountain bump and caused walls to fall.
Rescuers at a depth of 2,000 feet, Mr. Stickler said, were battered by
shooting coal and debris when 30 feet of a "rib," or wall, exploded.
He said that he could not know whether there was a way to resume
underground rescue operations and that mine-safety experts were being
summoned for advice.
Mr. Huntsman, a Republican, said he doubted that a mine of this depth
could be made safe for entry any time soon. He said he had sought
counsel from Gov. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, where 14 miners
died in two mine accidents early last year.
Of the six injured rescuers, three remain hospitalized. The dead
miners were identified as Mr. Black, whose age was not given; Brandon
Kimber, 29; and an inspector for the Mine Safety and Health
Administration, Gary Jensen, 53, who was based in Price.
The six injured rescuers were not identified as of Friday night, but
one of those in serious condition worked for the federal safety
agency.
The intense effort to burrow into the collapsed mineshaft to find the
trapped miners was fraught with high risk from the beginning.
The mountain has been experiencing seismic jolts since the start of
the assignment. Seismic specialists at the University of Utah in Salt
Lake City have recorded 22 readings of earth movement at the site
since the original magnitude 3.9 shock.
There has been no sure indication that the miners are alive. Just a
few tantalizing sounds have been detected that could be the rustlings
of animals or earth.
Progress has been painfully slow. The rescue team had chewed its way
800 feet and had 1,200 to go to reach the most likely refuge of the
trapped miners.
Robert L. Ferriter, an adjunct professor at the Colorado School of
Mines, predicted that the accident would lead to more emphasis on the
safety of rescue teams.
All that remains of activity to find the miners is surface boring.
Three bore holes had been drilled into the mine but found no sign of
life. Officials expect a fourth hole to be completed on Saturday.
Robert E. Murray, co-owner of the mine and president of Murray Energy,
who has been the public face of the disaster, did not appear at the
news conference on Friday.
Rob Moore, vice president of the company, said he helped pull out
rescuers after the accident.
Mr. Moore praised the three dead men as heroes and said Murray Energy
would "continue to focus on efforts to save the trapped miners."
Dan Frosch reported from Huntington, and N. R. Kleinfield from New
York. Libby Sander, Ian Urbina and Matthew L. Wald contributed
reporting.