The problem-plagued effort to rescue six miners trapped in a Utah coal mine suffered its most grave setback Thursday night, when a seismic shudder sent rock tumbling onto rescue workers, killing three and injuring six, authorities said.
The mountain “bump” occurred about 6:30 p.m., as the group of more than 100 rescue workers continued to carefully tunnel through the collapsed Crandall Canyon Mine. Since Aug. 6, when a predawn cave-in buried the miners, regular seismic tremors have slowed the dig to a virtual crawl.
There has been no indication of whether the trapped miners are alive, and officials emphasized that the rescuers were digging slowly to minimize risk. The tremors have been so bad that a dozen rescuers asked to be reassigned last week. “All rescue workers have been evacuated from the mine,” said Dirk Fillpot, a spokesman for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Hopeless