Effort to Reach 6 Utah Miners Frustrated

HUNTINGTON, Utah -- Teams of rescuers frantically cleared debris from underground tunnels early Tuesday, trying to reach six coal miners trapped by a cave-in beneath more than 1,500 feet of solid rock.

In early morning darkness, workers in hard hats came and went along a road leading to the mine in a forested canyon among mountains.

"Right now I can't say if it's looking any better," said one weary miner, Leland Lobato, as he ended an eight-hour shift. "They're doing what they can to keep everybody as fresh as possible so nobody gets tired."

The trapped miners were believed to have been in a chamber 3.4 miles inside the Crandall Canyon mine. Rescuers were able to reach a point about 1,700 from that point before being blocked by debris.

Crews hope drill rigs can punch holes in the mine to improve ventilation and help them determine if the miners survived the early Monday collapse, said Robert E. Murray, chairman of Murray Energy Corp. of Cleveland, a part owner.

"They could have been struck by material and injured or killed, but we don't know that yet," Murray said.

If they are alive, the miners would have plenty of air because oxygen naturally leaks into the mine, Murray said. The mine also is stocked with drinking water.

If rescuers can open an old mine shaft, they think they can get within 100 feet of where the men were believed to be, Murray said.

The collapse was reported about 4 a.m. Monday and relatives of the miners spent the rest of the day waiting at a senior center for news.

Many of the family members don't speak English, so Huntington Mayor Hilary Gordon hugged them, put her hands over her heart and then clasped them together to let them know she was praying for them, she said.

"Past experience tells us these things don't go very well," said Gordon, whose husband is a former miner.

Outside the senior center, Ariana Sanchez, 16, said her father Manuel Sanchez, 42, was among the trapped miners. She said she cried when her mother told her the news, and declined to say more. No details were available about the other miners.