'Tectonic Activity' Curbs Mine Rescue

The CEO of a collapsed Utah mine claimed that ongoing “seismic and tectonic activity”  curbed yesterday’s attempts at rescuing 6 miners who remain trapped 1,500 feet underground. He told CNN that the rescue dig won't resume until this afternoon and that the miners won't be reached for at least a week, although their condition will be known in 48 to 72 hours.

He blames the initial caving of the site Monday on a 4.0 quake, but experts counter that the collapse may have been what generated enough seismic waves to look like an earthquake. The CEO remains combative with reporters who blame the collapse on a mining technique and vows to stay on the site until his men are rescued “dead or alive.” (More coal mine stories.)