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Lawyer for families of six missing miners says search will go on despite news about sixth bore hole.
Colin King, left, a lawyer for several of the families of the trapped miners, hugs Nelda Erickson, right, the wife of trapped miner Don Ericson, outside the Desert Edge Christian Chapel.
AP photo
HUNTINGTON, Utah — Despite three weeks of drilling and digging that have revealed no signs of life from six men trapped inside a collapsed coal mine, an attorney for families of the miners said Sunday the search will continue.
Lawyer Colin King said federal and company officials told him and the miners’ relatives that a robotic camera would be lowered into a hole drilled during previous efforts to find the men.
The camera is similar to one used to search within the wreckage of the World Trade Center in New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It can take images in the darkened cavern from about 50 yards away with the help of a strong light, and has a much wider range than previous cameras used in the search efforts in part because of its ability to crawl through rubble, he said.
“We’re very excited about it. The families are thrilled to hear this,” King said.
The announcement came a day after crews penetrated the mine with a sixth borehole, finding a debris-filled area too small for the men to survive, according to King and the Web site of the federal mine safety agency.
Federal and company officials said a Sunday afternoon news conference was planned on those results.
King said a mine company lawyer told families that a seventh borehole was being considered. That one might be drilled into the kitchen area of the mine, an area where miners are trained to flee in case of collapse.
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 after the sixth hole had been drilled.
“It brings the hope back up. We needed that and we’re going to keep going until we find these guys,” he said.
King said the robotic camera would lowered into the fourth borehole, which was drilled more than 1,500 feet into the mountain. That was done after mysterious vibrations were detected by aboveground monitors for about 5 minutes on Aug. 15, but when that drill broke through three days later, there was silence. Crews spent at least four hours banging on the drill steel and setting off explosives in an effort to get a response, but without results.
Air monitors sent into that area of the mine showed insufficient oxygen to support life.
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, cutting off an exit route.