The Nation - A race to save trapped miners - Holes are being drilled to provide air, food and water in hopes the six men deep underground are still alive.
HUNTINGTON, UTAH — Grim-faced rescue workers covered with coal dust drilled halfway toward six miners trapped 1,500 feet underground Wednesday, as family members continued their agonizing wait for any survivors of Monday's cave-in.
"I have full faith they are in there alive and breathing," said mine safety supervisor Bodee Allred, his voice trembling. His cousin is one of the trapped miners.
The Crandall Canyon Mine collapsed early Monday, and persistent seismic rumblings stalled rescue efforts until Wednesday morning. Officials said they drilled a 2-inch-wide hole 875 feet deep and believe it will pierce the casing of the cavity that holds the miners, enabling them to find out whether the men are alive. They were also drilling a second, 8-inch-wide hole to supply them with air, food and water.
Sonic monitoring equipment has picked up no sign of tapping to indicate the workers are alive. The men cannot be extracted for a week at the earliest, and if the holes are drilled at an incorrect angle, they could hit solid rock rather than the space where the miners are trapped, said Robert E. Murray, chief executive of Murray Energy Corp., which owns the mine.
Murray said the holes may reach the miners in 48 hours or less. He remained optimistic that the workers would survive if the holes reached them.
"They can survive underground indefinitely . . . indefinitely," he said during an evening news conference. "We can provide everything they need . . . including a toothbrush and a comb."
Residents of this tightly knit region distributed fliers urging residents to attend upcoming vigils for the trapped miners. In an area where an estimated 90% of all jobs are in the energy industry, most residents know the affected families and can picture themselves or their loved ones in the same situation.
"I don't think there is a family that isn't impacted in some way," Huntington Mayor Hilary Gordon said.
Some family members began to voice frustration with the slow rescue operation. The company has rented the local junior high school and secluded relatives there. Murray has advised them not to speak to reporters, and sheriff's deputies are guarding the building.
Maria Buenrostro, whose brother Manuel Sanchez is one of the trapped miners, told the Associated Press that Murray got angry with relatives' questions and walked out of a meeting. She added that there was no interpreter provided for three Spanish-speaking families.
