Not good news this morning.
http://cbs2.com/topstories/topstorie...220082544.html
As it turns out, the drill was right on target.
Rescuers drilled successfully into an area of the Crandall Canyon coal mine late Thursday night, where six trapped workers are believed to be following a cave-in four days ago. However, no immediate signs of the men were discovered, reports CBS station KUTV-TV in Salt Lake City.
A machine drilling a 2 1/2 inch "relief hole" broke through the mine ceiling at approximately 10:00 p.m. Thursday, officials said - after plowing nearly 2,000 feet into the earth on the mountainside. After puncturing the mine shaft, rescuers sent a highly sensitive microphone down into the cavern so that any audible sounds could be heard from the trapped miners - who are trained to bang on the roof bolts in the event of an emergency. However, the microphone, which can hear sounds up to 1,000 feet away, did not pick up any sounds, officials said.
Crews also sent down a device to analyze the air quality of the cavern, which was found to contain sufficient amounts of oxygen to sustain life. In other words, the air in the mine shaft was good enough for the miners to breathe - if that is, in fact, their location.
"That means if they're alive, they're going to stay alive in that atmosphere," mine co-owner Robert Murray said.
Earlier Thursday, mine vice president Rob Moore emphasized that it may take some time after the drill punctured the mine chamber to determine whether the workers survived. The reason, he said, is because the miners may not even be near the section that was drilled into.
"I wouldn't look at it as good or bad news. The work is not done,'' Murray said.
Drilling continued on a wider hole, which could accommodate a powerful camera to provide a view inside the pocket, deliver food and water, and hopefully give a more definitive answer about the miners' fate.
Murray and the chief of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, Richard Stickler, delivered the news at a 12:30 a.m. MDT press conference. They returned to work and said the next update on the miners would be given at 10 a.m. MDT Friday.
Late Thursday, a transport plane carrying sophisticated camera equipment landed in Salt Lake City. The equipment will be used by rescuers to look into the mine cavern and aid rescue efforts. The equipment - from Tennessee - is capable of capturing images at greater distances underground, and at higher resolutions.
Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. and Sen. Orrin Hatch attended a press briefing on Thursday evening and thanked the rescue workers for their efforts.
"We Utahns feel very deeply about this," Hatch said. "I'm grateful to be here. We know this is a difficult thing. I'm very proud of our federal workers and our leaders. Above all, I'm proud of the rescue workers who are risking their lives."
"We are absolutely focused on getting to these miners," said mine vice president Rob Moore. "We made good progress today."
When contact is made with the workers underground, rescuers will drop a communication device into the hole, which will allow crews to speak and listen to the miners. The device is designed for underground communication, and is illuminated so the miners can see it in the dark, Moore said. That entire process is expected to take approximately 2 hours, once contact with the miners is made.
Earlier Thursday, drill crews were forced to recalculate the depth into a mountain needed to reach six trapped coal miners.
Originally, they believed a 1,500 foot hole would be enough to break through to the area where the miners are trapped. However, after reaching that depth Thursday morning, the drill crew still had not broken through into the cavern.
If the six trapped miners are alive, they may be sitting in total darkness because their headlamps may have burned out. Wearing thin work clothes in the 58-degree cold, they could be chilled to the bone if water is seeping into their chamber 150 stories below ground.
"I'm sure their lights have died by now. I'm sure it's pitch black,'' said miner Robby Robertson, 27, of Orangeville, Utah, who worked in the mine several years ago. "Imagine the darkest place you've ever been.''
Murray, however, said that if the minors survived the collapse itself, they would probably be spending most of the time in the dark to conserve their headlamp batteries, which are generally good for about 12 hours each.
"As soon as they realized they were trapped, it is very likely they went down to one light and very likely they went into total darkness a lot of the time and only used that light for the purpose of getting to the materials they need to ensure their survival,'' Murray said. "It wouldn't be bright. It would be like a very, very, large flashlight.''
The six trapped miners are identified as Manuel Sanchez, Kerry Allred, Luis Hernandez, Carlos Paran, Brandon Phillips and Don Erickson.
The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said each miner also should have had at least two emergency air packs, each of which supplies about an hour's worth of oxygen. But whether the air packs were within reach is not known.
Robertson said the men would be helping each other, the older ones being strong for the younger ones.
"If these people are still alive, I'm sure they're all sitting together. I'm sure they're all just trying to comfort each other. I'm sure they know people are trying to get to them,'' he said. "You're closer to the crew you're on than your own family.''
Based on his own experience of once being trapped in a mine, Murray said the trapped miners would be confident.
The families of the six miners were praying for their survival, one relative said.
Murray said that keeping the rescuers safe as they tried to work their way toward the trapped miners was paramount.
"Some of these men are willing to take chances to get their brothers out,'' Murray said. "We can't allow that.''
That sucks, it doesnt sound very hopeful.
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