US: Six coal miners trapped underground in Utah

Rescuers were trying to reach the workers by drilling into the mine vertically from the mountaintop and horizontally from the side, according to Robert E. Murray, chairman of Murray Energy Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio, which is a part-owner of the Crandall Canyon mine. Murray told the Associated Press (AP) if rescuers could open an old mine shaft they believe they can get within 100 feet of where the men are trapped.

“The idea is to get a hole into where they are,” Murray said. “They could be in a chamber 1,000 feet long or they could be dead. We just don’t know right now.” Murray acknowledged that he did not know what kind of breathing equipment the miners were carrying.

The cave-in occurred in the early morning hours Monday at the mine, which is located in a rugged and sparsely populated forest area about 140 miles south of Salt Lake City. Ten men were in the mine at the time and four were able to escape. Seventy-one people are employed at the small mine, with approximately a dozen miners working each shift.

The families of the miners have gathered in the nearby town of Huntington. A local news report said mine rescue teams, including some 200 company employees, have been bringing in maps, heavy mining equipment from around the state and timber to shore up the mine. Utah Governor Jon Huntsman and federal mine inspectors were also at the scene.

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