Mine Owner: They're Probably Dead

Company decides to close mine permanently

(NEWSER) - Workers will bore a final hole in a bid to locate six miners lost in a Utah mine, but if that fails, the operation will be halted and the mine closed as a kind of memorial tomb, the owner said yesterday. "We're not going to risk more live people to get dead bodies," said Bob Murray. Three rescue workers died in a collapse last week. More»

(NEWSER) - At least nine rescuers at the Utah mine where six miners were trapped last week are injured after seismic activity may have caused another cave-in, CNN reports. Six or more ambulances and two helicopters rushed to the Crandall Canyon mine tonight to transport the wounded rescuers to the hospital. More»

Crews start drilling toward unknown sound

(NEWSER) - Rescuers digging for men who have been trapped underground for 10 days heard noise inside the mine today, prompting crews to drill a fourth hole in the sound's direction. They described hearing 5 minutes of “noise” through seismic geophones, ignighting some hope in an otherwise-discouraging rescue effort. "There's a very good chance we may find them alive," said the mine owner. More»

Poorly lit video spies equipment but no sign of missing miners

(NEWSER) - Mine officials will drill a third hole to locate six Utah miners trapped for close to a week, the AP reports. A video camera with poor lighting was lowered into a hole yesterday and found mining equipment, but no sign of the miners. Still, rescuers said they were treating the mission as a rescue and not as a recovery effort. More»

Community reels as seismic jolt triggers new accident

(NEWSER) - Three men have died and six were injured in another collapse at a Utah mine where the team was working to save six trapped miners, reports the New York Times. "It's a devastating blow to what was already a tragic situation," said the local mayor. The accident yesterday evening was caused by seismic shaking that has plagued the rescue operation. More»