Huntington, Utah – The owner of a coal mine where six miners are trapped put their fate in the hands of the Almighty on Tuesday as rescuers set up sensitive seismic gear to discover whether they were still alive.
“I don’t know if the miners are alive or dead, only the Lord knows that,” said mine owner Robert Murray. “It is up to Bob Murray to get them out.”
But while crews hope to be able to drill a hole in two days to provide food and other supplies to the miners, it could take one to two weeks to reach the men, Murray said Tuesday evening.
Optimism in the wake of Monday’s 2 a.m. cave-in gave way to anxiety and fatigue as rescuers ran into one setback after another. At 4 a.m. Tuesday, crews withdrew after a “mountain bump,” a seismic compression in the mine, made it unsafe to continue. Rescuers regrouped to mend ventilation systems and install more support beams before they could push back into the tunnel.
Murray said mining crews were “back to square one” in the rescue effort.
“We continue to have aftershocks, and it has totally shut down our rescue efforts underground,” he said. “There is no way we can reach the trapped miners in (less than) a week.”
It is believed the men are about 3.4 miles from the tunnel entrance and about 1,500 feet below the surface. There may be as much as 2,000 feet of rubble in the tunnel between the men and rescuers.
Late Monday, an attempt to enter an old tunnel parallel to where the men are believed to be trapped failed when it too was determined unsafe and impassable.
“I’m disappointed in our progress,” Murray said. “We’re doing everything we can, but it isn’t enough.”
Questions remain whether the tunnel collapse was due to an earthquake or from other causes. Murray continued to insist the tragedy was the product of “an earthquake, a natural disaster.”
Two surface rigs began drilling at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Murray said. One will drill a hole 8 5/8 inches in diameter; the other 2 inches in diameter.
“We’ll reach the miners in two days and provide communication, light, ventilation and sustenance,” he said.
In what turned out to be an emotion-charged news conference, the mine company CEO castigated The Associated Press and Fox News for reporting that risky “retreat mining” techniques may have caused the mishap.
So-called retreat mining takes place during the final stages of an active tunnel when support pillars of coal are removed, leaving the roof weak and potentially vulnerable to collapse.
“No retreat mining took place in the vicinity” where the men were working, Murray insisted.
But late Tuesday afternoon, Richard Stickler, the assistant secretary for the federal Mine Health and Safety Administration, told reporters near the mine that “retreat mining has been done at this operation.”
He said that he did not know whether the more risky type of excavation had taken place near the area where the men were trapped.
Utah Gov. Jon Hunstman toured the mine site with U.S. Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, for two hours. The men were grim-faced upon the completion of the visit.
“This is a very difficult time for Huntington and people who call Emery County home,” the governor said. “It’s tough going. Everyone is keeping hope alive. We have to.”
Sensitive seismic equipment was being set up in an attempt to hear the miners, said Al Davis, of the Mine Health and Safety Administration. The system requires explosives to be discharged in hopes the trapped men can hear them.
“They are trained to pound on the ceiling when they hear the explosions,” Davis said. “We’ll be listening for that response.” He added, however, that “we are working at the extreme limits of this equipment.”
Little continues to be revealed about the trapped miners. The company has refused to identify them. Family members have identified two of the workers as Kerry Allred and Mario Sanchez.
The families of the trapped miners are bearing up well, according to mine company officials. But reporters have not been allowed to speak to them.
Emery County Sheriff Lamar Guymon said company officials asked him to keep reporters away from the families.
One of four miners who escaped Monday’s collapse said he was instructed not to talk about what happened.
Jameson Ward was in the mine when the collapse occurred. Ward did say that the trapped men were part of his mine crew.
“It was a bounce,” Ward said. “Bad things happen. Nothing can be done about it.”
