February 11, 2009 4:20 PM
- Text
Robotic Camera Searches For Utah Miners
(CBS/AP)
Rescuers admit it's a long shot, but a robotic camera dropped deep inside a Utah mountain could be the best chance officials have of finding any sign of six men missing for 21 days in a caved-in coal mine.
The 8-inch robot was lowered more than 1,500 feet through a narrow hole to scope out the "survivable space" inside the mine Sunday, although mine executives, safety officials and technology experts estimate the chances of success at less than 50 percent.
"It's a long shot, and I repeat, it's a long shot. But we owe it to the families to do everything we can to locate their loved ones," said Jack Kuzar, a district manager for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.
The camera arrived Friday and was tested over the weekend before being lowered into the mine Sunday night. Images from the camera were expected sometime Monday.
The camera is similar to the one used to search within the wreckage of the World Trade Center in New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It is programmed to take images in the darkened cavern from about 50 feet away with the help of a 200-watt light, can travel 1,000 feet from the end of the test hole, and has some ability to move around the rubble.
Robin Murphy, director of the Institute for Safety Security Rescue Technology at the University of South Florida, said it was not clear if the 8-inch camera would fit down the 8 5/8-inch hole and into the mine, much less make it past the loose rock and other debris in the borehole.
"There's mud, there's rocks, there's things that make it unfavorable," she said.
But the brother of one of the missing miners said families were hopeful.
"We've got a lot to learn from the camera and we're all hoping it will do a good job for us," Cesar Sanchez said.
The camera was being lowered into one of six bore holes drilled through the mountain since Aug. 6, when a thunderous mountain bump caused the ribs of the mine shaft to implode, leaving miners Kerry Allred, Don Erickson, Luis Hernandez, Carlos Payan, Brandon Phillips and Manuel Sanchez trapped inside. It's unclear if the men survived the blast.
Officials also began drilling a seventh hole Sunday, hoping to break into the mine's "kitchen," an area where miners are trained to find safety during a collapse. The area is about 1,800 feet below the surface, and while mine bosses would not estimate a timetable for completion, previous drilling efforts have taken up to two days.
"Everybody, you know, was kind of smiling a little bit about the seventh hole," Sanchez said. "It brings the hope back up. We needed that and we're going to keep going until we find these guys."
Families had expected officials to halt rescue efforts Sunday, after mine co-owner Bob Murray said earlier he would shutter the mine and entomb the men if the sixth hole found no sign of life.
That announcement followed a second collapse Aug. 16 that killed three people and wounded six who were digging horizontally through massive mounds of debris inside the mine.
Federal mining officials have said the instability of the mountain makes it too risky to resume underground digging or to drill a hole wide enough to send a manned rescue capsule into the mine, something families have called for.
Seismologists describe the mountain as crumbling in upon itself, bursting support pillars as it shifts in a phenomena 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.
Murray had threatened to close his Utah operations after Gov. Jon Huntsman criticized the safety conditions and Murray's rescue efforts. As CBS Station KUTV correspondent Jennifer Stagg reports, Murray made good his threat by shutting down the Tower mine completely, laying off nearly 200 employees, while bringing in outside engineers to study its safety.
Murray said that he has given employees the option to work at his other mines in Illinois and Ohio. He has given the miners until noon Monday to make a decision.
"If they choose this, there will be no one laid off and no one will miss a paycheck," he said.
"I just got bumped out," Jarred Sims told CBS Station KUTV correspondent Jennifer Stagg. "He's in checkmate right now. He can shut down everything and it will be done."
The 8-inch robot was lowered more than 1,500 feet through a narrow hole to scope out the "survivable space" inside the mine Sunday, although mine executives, safety officials and technology experts estimate the chances of success at less than 50 percent.
"It's a long shot, and I repeat, it's a long shot. But we owe it to the families to do everything we can to locate their loved ones," said Jack Kuzar, a district manager for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.
The camera arrived Friday and was tested over the weekend before being lowered into the mine Sunday night. Images from the camera were expected sometime Monday.
The camera is similar to the one used to search within the wreckage of the World Trade Center in New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It is programmed to take images in the darkened cavern from about 50 feet away with the help of a 200-watt light, can travel 1,000 feet from the end of the test hole, and has some ability to move around the rubble.
Robin Murphy, director of the Institute for Safety Security Rescue Technology at the University of South Florida, said it was not clear if the 8-inch camera would fit down the 8 5/8-inch hole and into the mine, much less make it past the loose rock and other debris in the borehole.
"There's mud, there's rocks, there's things that make it unfavorable," she said.
But the brother of one of the missing miners said families were hopeful.
"We've got a lot to learn from the camera and we're all hoping it will do a good job for us," Cesar Sanchez said.
The camera was being lowered into one of six bore holes drilled through the mountain since Aug. 6, when a thunderous mountain bump caused the ribs of the mine shaft to implode, leaving miners Kerry Allred, Don Erickson, Luis Hernandez, Carlos Payan, Brandon Phillips and Manuel Sanchez trapped inside. It's unclear if the men survived the blast.
Officials also began drilling a seventh hole Sunday, hoping to break into the mine's "kitchen," an area where miners are trained to find safety during a collapse. The area is about 1,800 feet below the surface, and while mine bosses would not estimate a timetable for completion, previous drilling efforts have taken up to two days.
"Everybody, you know, was kind of smiling a little bit about the seventh hole," Sanchez said. "It brings the hope back up. We needed that and we're going to keep going until we find these guys."
Families had expected officials to halt rescue efforts Sunday, after mine co-owner Bob Murray said earlier he would shutter the mine and entomb the men if the sixth hole found no sign of life.
That announcement followed a second collapse Aug. 16 that killed three people and wounded six who were digging horizontally through massive mounds of debris inside the mine.
Federal mining officials have said the instability of the mountain makes it too risky to resume underground digging or to drill a hole wide enough to send a manned rescue capsule into the mine, something families have called for.
Seismologists describe the mountain as crumbling in upon itself, bursting support pillars as it shifts in a phenomena 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.
Murray had threatened to close his Utah operations after Gov. Jon Huntsman criticized the safety conditions and Murray's rescue efforts. As CBS Station KUTV correspondent Jennifer Stagg reports, Murray made good his threat by shutting down the Tower mine completely, laying off nearly 200 employees, while bringing in outside engineers to study its safety.
Murray said that he has given employees the option to work at his other mines in Illinois and Ohio. He has given the miners until noon Monday to make a decision.
"If they choose this, there will be no one laid off and no one will miss a paycheck," he said.
"I just got bumped out," Jarred Sims told CBS Station KUTV correspondent Jennifer Stagg. "He's in checkmate right now. He can shut down everything and it will be done."
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