 Crews drill holes closer to Utah miners
Authorities thought the men were 1,500 feet underground, but rescuers realized partway through the day that because of rough, uneven terrain, they would need to drill to nearly 1,900 feet.
"It's not an operational problem. It's a time setback," said Allyn Davis, who oversees Western operations for the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
The 2 1/2-inch hole to bring a microphone and camera into the cavity must be drilled 1,869 feet, he said. The rig had reached 1,530 feet, said Bob Murray, chairman of mine co-owner Murray Energy Corp.
A larger hole, just under 9 inches to bring food and water, must be drilled 1,886 feet, Davis said. That drill had advanced 350 feet to 400 feet.
"We will put cameras down. We will provide communication. We will provide food. We could keep them alive indefinitely," Murray said.
The miners were believed to be about 3 1/2 miles from the entrance to the Crandall Canyon mine, 140 miles south of Salt Lake City.
"With a little help from God and a little luck, they'll get out," said mine safety manager Bodee Allred.
The miners' families have been receiving private briefings on the rescue effort from Murray, who said he took two relatives of the trapped miners underground Wednesday to show them the rescue efforts.
Murray's company has 19 mines in five states, facilities that vary widely in the number of fines, citations and injuries, according to an Associated Press review of federal Mine Safety and Health Administration records.
At Crandall Canyon mine, the safety record was remarkably good, said R. Larry Grayson, a professor of mining engineering at Penn State University.
In a narrow canyon surrounded by the Manti-La Sal National Forest, two parallel shafts lead deep into the mine, linked by smaller tunnels about every 130 feet. The walls of both passageways appeared to have imploded, creating a debris pile of dirt, coal and splintered timbers that nearly fills the 8-foot by 14-foot mine shafts.
Rescuers are clearing out the left tunnel, where the miners were believed to be trapped |
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