Robot To Assist In Desperate Utah Search

As Workers At 2 Other Mines Owned By Same Company Reportedly Mull Offers To Work In Ohio, Illinois

(CBS/AP)  The Crandall Canyon miners were last heard from about 3 a.m. Aug. 6, just before a thunderous shudder inside the mountain cracked the ribs of the mine and filled passageways with debris, cutting off an exit route. It has never been clear if they survived the cave-in.

Digging through the rubble-filed mine shaft was halted after a second collapse killed three rescuers and injured six others Aug. 16.

Sunday's announcement that the camera-equipped robot is on scene and ready to be used came a day after crews penetrated the mine with a sixth borehole, finding a debris-filled area too small for the men to survive, officials said.

"There could be no sign of life in such a condition," mine co-owner Bob Murray said Sunday.

Murray said the seventh hole will be drilled into the kitchen area of the mine, an area where miners are trained to flee in case of collapse. "We haven't given up hope," he said.

Murray had previously said the sixth borehole, drilled more than 1,700 feet deep, would be the last before sealing the mine.

"We believe the right thing to do is to put another hole down and try to locate these men and in discussions with MSHA that was agreed to and that is what has been done," said Rob Moore, vice president of Murray Energy Corp.

The seventh hole was being started Sunday and officials did not estimate when it may be completed. Previous holes have taken about two days to hit the mine shaft.

Cesar Sanchez, brother of trapped miner Manuel Sanchez, said the prospect of a seventh hole encouraged the families, who had been outraged when told that the search might end.

"It brings the hope back up. We needed that and we're going to keep going until we find these guys," he said.

Murphy said the robotic camera will lowered into either the third or fourth boreholes drilled, neither of which had given any sign of the miners.

Horizontal digging through the rubble-filed mine shaft was halted after a second collapse killed three rescuers and injured six others Aug. 16.

Federal Mine Health and Safety Administration officials say the instability of the mountain makes it too risky to resume underground digging or to drill a hole widen enough to send a manned rescue capsule into the mine.

Seismologists describe the mountain as crumbling in upon itself, bursting support pillars as it shifts in a phenomenon known as mountain bumps.

MSHA officials have not specifically said they'll close the mine, but have grown increasingly pessimistic about the chances of finding the men alive or even recovering their bodies.

Bruce Hill, president and chief executive officer of UtahAmerican Energy, part owner in Crandall Canyon, said there was a possibility the mine company could continue to drill holes even after the completion of the seventh.

[usawarrior]

incog-nito is right on the money. "They are dead, buried. Bringing them up to rebury them again serves no purpose." Some things we should think with the heart, but at times we need to think with the mind. The miners are dead... let them rest in peace right where they are. To risk more lives trying to do the obviously impossible (rescue that is) is passionately insane and serves no purpose. Let%u2019s remember the ballad of %u201CBig John%u201D.

[usawarrior]

incog-nito is right on the money. "They are dead, buried. Bringing them up to rebury them again serves no purpose." Some things we should think with the heart, but at times we need to think with the mind. The miners are dead... let them rest in peace right where they are. To risk more lives trying to do the obviously impossible (rescue that is) is passionately insane and serves no purpose. Let%u2019s remember the ballad of %u201CBig John%u201D.

[my48p]

I would like to know why wait till now to drill a hole in the kitchen area of the mine.If the crews are told to go their if thier is a problem (shouldent that hole have been drilled sonner?)

[incog-nito]

They''re dead, buried. Bringing them up to rebury them again serves no purpose.

[brianbwb-2009]

Bajamber,

You bring up a good point, but history has shown that to bring up issues that would dent the business owners'' profits can be fatal to your job, if not your person, and mine safety has been among the most notorious ever since the days when they used children as miners.

For more evidence, see the articles on those who blew whistles on the corruption of the Iraq war budget, some were even tortured.

[annia1233]

I also thought why they did not start drilling at the kitchen area in the first place if they knew the miners were trained to move there in emergencies.
Then i recounted the news and realized the collapse was fast, they heard the miners in one point of the mine and then the collapse. the most logical move is to drill the place where they were heard last or the place they thought they may be, not the kitchen, they probably had no time to run, they probably are below all the ruble. Poor miners, poor family. Gd help them on this hour to accept they are gone and will never come back.

[bajamber]

My heart goes out to the families of the trapped miners; and I feel that every effort needs to be made to find out if they are still alive. However, if they are not, then I don''t feel it is worth any more lives to bring the bodies out.

A lot of blame has been laid at Murray''s doorstep and the mining industry. When miner''s go into a mine, they know the hazards and perils they face. If the miners and their families did not feel the mine was safe, why weren''t all of those issues brought up before they went in? It''s easy for all of us to sit back and judge what went on, but the ultimate responsibility for one''s safety and well being belongs to each individual.

[grammawhamma]

I feel for the families of the missing miners but no more lives need to be lost to this disaster to bring out bodies. It is time to mourn, hold funerals and put up headstones of those lost in the mine on the mountain...their final resting place. Rest in peace. Amen.

[edward1975-2009]

It is most certainly a recovery mission at this point. The time is fast approaching when the task at hand will be to say good-bye to these men and to bring closure to the families. May they find peace in their faith and may these miners rest in peace.

[stephengosson]

If it was known that the miners were trained to move to the kitchen area in an event such as this, why didn''t they begin drilling there on day one, post-haste??
Or, at least, simultaneous drilling there while their first drill followed the direction that they believed was correct.
That''s a minor fact in the story that BEGS for further elaboration!!

[wonderyman-2009]

Remove 1, 10 or 50 bricks from the ground floor wall of a 10 story building - not much happens.
Continue to remove bricks, and at some point the building comes down.
Mountain "bursts" - rock shooting out of the sides of mine shafts - are proof the foundation of the mountain has been depleted from "over-mining".

[juli28428]

"For some reason, not known to man, that mountain has taken those men and she is NOT going to give them up without a fight. And so far, she is winning."

Sadly I agree with mainemade --- it''s almost eerie.

I sympathize so much with the families. How horrible, how terribly horrible, it must be wondering if their loved ones are alive inside the mountain and waiting for help to arrive. If they are not found, dead or alive, it is a nightmare those families will have to live with forever. May God bless them and give them peace.

[rpgivpgmr]

I believe Mr. Murray has done everything he could do given the horrific event and impossible circumstances and much more than most CEOs would ever have done. And he isn''t even finished DOING.

Fact is, if you speak with anyone who has been a mining inspector for the MSHA you will find that we have been extremely lucky in NOT having such disasters already. Anyone thinking otherwise is one of us, uninformed of the real mining world.
We are too dependent (e.g. we use too much) on coal to be able to change our safety regulations in order to make a more safe mining environment across the board.

The only real fault I can find is the lack of communication gear, and it wasn''t until after Katrina that the government agencies updated theirs. I don''t think private industry has addressed that yet.

There just is no total safe work environment in mining, heavy industry, on the Space Shuttle, or in the Military where you can''t get hurt or killed by an accident. Plus, there could always have been human error at work here. Until the cause of this disaster can be determined, we will never know why it happened.

May God Bless all involved with this terrible incident in any way.

[godseyesore-2009]

How about putting the owners and foremen into the shaft prior to sealing it?

[nothappyatall]

Sigh... this just keeps going on and on and on- accept REALITY; the 6 men are DEAD, they were almost certainly killed in the original cave in, no signs of life, 6 holes find zippo and it''s been almost 3 weeks.
Time to move on.

[annd2302]

When miners accept employment with mining companies do they sign any documents regarding their safety, health, wages, etc? Just where does cave-ins fall within the miners contracts, or do they?

President Bush has his fingers in other business, where does his involvement start here, again or does it? Black lung disease, has that issue been eradicated?

[ginette_mise]

god be with you all,it''s a god damnsin,this company had loads of money but coulnd spend it on making the workplace safe.if it is found to be the owner''s fault,get even in every way

[gkc99]

"will something be learnt from their deaths to help other miners and the owners to be safer and have tools needed for that safety and well being as long they have to sent in mines . "
Posted by MichelleM99

How about: don''t let neocon crooks gut the regulatory agencies that enforce safety rules by Bushit putting a man completely associated with mine owners to regulate them, at the same time sending the message that regulation is a bad thing?

Maybe adequate enforcement of existing rules would have saved these people.

And while we''re at it, how about a look at the profit sheet and political payoffs made by Murray Mining?

[susanhelit]

3 rescuers dead, and the families say they don''t know why more isn''t being done? I know they''re hurting, but they need to face reality before more are killed looking for corpses - most likely completely unrecoverable corpses.

They''re not the only people in the world who have lost loved ones - time to accept that it has happened, and grieve.

[michellem99-2009]

Dears, they are dead...yet those words hurt..But..So true..I am so sorry..I wish they were still there with you...Will their bodies ever be found, will something be learnt from their deaths to help other miners and the owners to be safer and have tools needed for that safety and well being as long they have to sent in mines .