Utah Mine Disaster

Stories

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July 2008
- Deadly Mine Collapse Draws Record Fine
  
  CNN | Jul 25, 08 6:21 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The federal government has socked a Utah mine operator and its consultant with the highest fine ever—$1.85 million—for safety violations in a mine collapse that killed six men last year. Investigators said weak pillar support and work in dangerous areas of the Crandell Canyon mine led to the disaster. The mine operator was charged $1.34 million “for violations that directly contributed to the deaths,” as well as $300,000 in other penalties. More »
May 2008
- Report: Utah Mine Collapse Was Avoidable
  
  New York Times | May 8, 08 1:02 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Mining officials concealed information that could have prevented the deaths of nine miners in Utah last year, says a congressional report out today. The August disaster followed the collapse of a nearby section of the mine, which indicated that the terrain was unsafe—but officials at the Crandall Mine didn’t report the earlier incident to federal safety authorities, the New York Times reports. More »
April 2008
- Probe Blames Feds for Utah Mine Horror
  
  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 1, 08 3:15 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A federal probe into a Utah mine disaster that killed nine people has accused the federal agency overseeing mine safety of negligence. The finding by the Labor Department's Office of Inspector General does not rule out the possibility that the owner of the site used undue influence on the Mine Safety and Health Agency to secure approval of operations, reports the Salt Lake City Tribune . More »
October 2007
- Miners' Families Vent Anger to Lawmakers
  
  CNN | Oct 3, 07 7:50 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Families of 6 dead miners expressed anger and heartbreak to lawmakers today, blaming lax safety for the Utah mine collapse. Relatives said miners were afraid to speak up and continued working until the August 2 collapse. One lawmaker blasted a mining safety agency and called the incident a "preventable tragedy," CNN reports. More »
August 2007
- Rain Foils Mine Camera Drop
  
  Salt Lake Tribune | Aug 28, 07 12:11 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - An 8-inch robotic camera’s descent down a 1,415-foot borehole in the collapsed Crandall Canyon Mine was cut short yesterday by several hours of steady rain, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The weather blocked positioning of equipment needed to drop the camera, as well as preparations for a seventh borehole, in the search for the miners who have now been trapped for more than two weeks. More »
- Mine Operation Continues With 7th Hole and Camera
  
  Salt Lake Tribune | Aug 27, 07 5:17 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Reversing an earlier decision, recovery efforts will continue at the Utah mine where six miners were trapped three weeks ago. A seventh hole will be drilled into the mine, and a camera will be dropped into a previously bored hole to search for signs of life. Family members requested that the new hole be drilled to the kitchen area, where the men were supposed to congregate in an emergency. More »
- 6th Hole Shows No Signs of Life
  
  Associated Press | Aug 25, 07 9:45 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The last hole drilled into the collapsed Utah mine where six men are trapped yielded no hopeful sign today; the space it reached was too small to support the men, a lawyer for some of the families told the press. "The only thing they told us is there is no void where the sixth hole is; there is no space," he told the AP after a meeting with mine officials. More »
- Rescue Workers Will Bore One Last Hole
  
  Los Angeles Times | Aug 23, 07 3:55 AM CDT
  
  (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 »
- Owners Mull Reopening Mine
  
  New York Times | Aug 22, 07 12:49 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Days after three more deaths ended efforts to rescue trapped miners, Crandall Canyon’s operators are talking about reopening the Utah mine—to mixed reaction from families and townspeople, according to the Times. Some wonder how the area is safe for mining but not for continuing recovery operations; others point to the mine's crucial place in the local economy. More »
- Families, Critics Question Safety of Utah Mine
  
  Associated Press | Aug 21, 07 9:03 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A friend of a missing miner insulted the mining company CEO at a funeral yesterday as critics around the country pointed fingers. They say a safety organization has gone too easy on Bob Murray, letting him engage in dangerous “retreat mining” even though his mines are prone to “bumps,” or sudden earth shake-ups. Defenders say Murray has improved safety. More »
- Mine Owner: They're Probably Dead
  
  Salt Lake Tribune | Aug 21, 07 7:05 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The trapped Utah miners are most likely dead, and their bodies may never be recovered, mine owner Robert Murray acknowledged to bereaved family members last night. Following the death of three rescuers—and a report from mining experts concluding that further attempts would be an unacceptable risk—underground rescue efforts have been suspended indefinitely. More »
- Families Lash Owners for Abandoning Trapped Miners
  
  Associated Press | Aug 19, 07 11:10 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Angry relatives of six men missing for two weeks in a Utah mine collapse have accused owners and federal officials of quitting on the rescue effort and leaving the miners for dead. Officials conceded yesterday that the miners may never be found in the mountain, still quivering from seismic activity, AP reports. More »
- Mine Rescue Effort Called Off
  
  Salt Lake Tribune | Aug 17, 07 8:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The search for the six men trapped in a collapsed Utah mine for the last 12 days has been halted indefinitely after a seismic "bump" at 6:39 PM yesterday caused a second cave-in, killing three rescuers, injuring six, and highlighting that the Crandall Canyon mine remains fraught with danger. More »
- 3 Rescue Workers Killed in Mine
  
  New York Times | Aug 17, 07 12:53 AM CDT
  
  (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 »
- 9 Injured in 2nd Mine Collapse
  
  CNN | Aug 16, 07 9:37 PM CDT
  
  (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 »
- New Images Offer Hope at Mine
  
  Associated Press | Aug 16, 07 5:56 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hours after rescuers in Utah detected noise from the collapsed mine, images from a videocamera lowered into the disaster site offered a glimmer of hope, the AP reports. Although the camera did not pick up the miners, it did film a ventilation curtain used to ensure workers have access to good air. Behind the curtain would be a pocket of fresh air, where they could be waiting. More »
- Rescuers Hear 'Noise' in Mine
  
  Deseret News (Salt Lake) | Aug 15, 07 10:46 PM CDT
  
  (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 »
- Mine Collapse Survivor Didn't Hear the Cave-In
  
  Associated Press | Aug 13, 07 10:53 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - One of the four miners who escaped the Crandall Canyon collapse that trapped six men told the AP he didn't hear or feel the cave-in as it was occurring. Tim Curtis, who was near the mine's entrance at the time, heard of the collapse via text message on an personal emergency device. "It's just like you are here and three miles away are you going to hear a balloon pop?" he says. More »
- Officials to Drill Third Hole at Utah Mine
  
  Washington Post | Aug 12, 07 6:50 PM CDT
  
  (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 »
- Rescuers See 'Survivable Space' in Mine
  
  Associated Press | Aug 11, 07 4:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A camera lowered into a Utah mine where six men are stranded showed a 5 1/2-foot “survivable space” today but little else, the AP reports. Rescuers pulled out the video camera to protect it from flowing water and install another lens, hoping for a wider angle on the cavity—while another, smaller hole was being used to pump oxygen into the nearly airless mine. More »