HUNTINGTON — After a camera lowered through a fourth bore hole again showed no signs of six workers trapped in the Crandall Canyon mine, officials on Sunday acknowledged what many had already feared.
“It’s likely that these miners may not be found,” Rob Moore, vice president of mine owner Utah Energy Corp., said during a Sunday afternoon news conference.
Video from the latest bore hole drilled from the top of the mine into caverns below showed extensive damage to that area of the mine, and oxygen levels measured at 7 or 8 percent — not enough to support life.
Work is now beginning on a fifth bore hole in a new area where, based on conversations with those who survived the Aug. 6 collapse, the miners might have fled, Moore said. Yet Moore said he expects to find oxygen levels again incapable of supporting life.
SALT LAKE CITY TRIBUNE: Any Investigation Into The Cause Of The Crandall Mine Collapse Should Be Conducted With The Explicit Intent Of Ensuring That These Men Did Not Die In Vain — From The Big Book Of Things We’d Like To Hear Richard Stickler Say
RELATED: BEIJING, Aug. 20 — Hopes dwindled fast Monday for the lives of 172 miners blocked deep underground more than three days ago by floodwaters that filled a coal shaft in eastern China. The accident, the latest in a long series of tragedies in Chinese mines, provided another dramatic example of China’s poor worker safety record, particularly in the booming coal industry. More than 2,800 miners were killed in underground explosions and floodings last year, making China’s mines the deadliest in the world. On average, 13 miners die a day in China. [WASHINGTON POST]
