6 Utah miners trapped

By Associated Press
August 6, 2007
HUNTINGTON, Utah — A coal mine collapsed today in central Utah, trapping six miners less than 20 miles from the epicenter of a 4.0 magnitude earthquake, authorities said.

The Genwal mine reported a "cave-in" at 3:50 a.m. MDT, an hour after the earthquake, the Emery County sheriff's office said.

"Rescue workers are on scene trying to locate six miners that are unaccounted for," the sheriff's office.

The miners were believed to be 1,500 feet below ground, about four miles from the mine entrance, said Dirk Philpot, a spokesman at the Mine Safety and Health Administration in Washington, D.C.

There has been no contact with them, he said.

Rescuers were within 2,500 feet of the miners, said Philpot, who had no details on their conditions or the difficulty of the search.

The University of Utah's Seismograph Stations said there was a clear link between the quake and the mine collapse, based on wave lengths.

"The ground is collapsing or relaxing toward the source," director Walter Arabasz said.

"The evidence we have at hand suggests that the seismic event was caused by some disturbance in the mine," he said. "We have to go back and look at more careful analysis to see if we can discriminate without ambivalence what the source is."

A command center was being set up in Huntington, about 15 miles from the mine, said Teresa Behunin, an accountant with Utah American Energy, the mine owner. She had no other details.

The mine is in the Manti-La Sal National Forest, 140 miles south of Salt Lake City, in a sparsely populated area.

Emery County is Utah's No. 2 coal-producing county. In that same county, 27 people died in a fire in the Wilburg mine in December 1984.

"We aren't panicked yet," Linda Jewkes, president of the Emery County Chamber of Commerce, said after hearing the news. "We're very, very concerned and very cautious when it comes to the mines."

Utah ranked 12th in coal production in 2006. There were 13 underground coal mines in 2005, the most recent statistics available, according to the Utah Geological Survey.

Six Trapped in Collapsed Utah Coal Mine

Monday, August 06, 2007

HUNTINGTON, Utah — Six coal miners were trapped Monday when a mine in Emery County collapsed in a cave-in so powerful that authorities initially thought it was small earthquake.

Authorities originally believed that a magnitude 4.0 earthquake triggered the collapse of the Genwal mine in Emery County. But the seismograph station now says that there is no evidence that an earthquake occurred. Instead, evidence indicates that the mine collapsed with such force it registered as an earthquake.

The miners are believed to be about 1,500 feet underground, four miles from the entrance of the mine. There has been no communication with the six, according to a statement from the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

“Mine rescue teams are in the mine and are within about 2,500 feet of where MSHA believes the miners were working," said Dirk Fillpot, a spokesman for the MSHA.

A mine executive told the Associated Press that the trapped miners would have enough food and water to last several days if they survived the cave-in.

At least a half-dozen other mine collapses since 1995 have caused similar seismic waves, including one in southwestern Wyoming that caused readings as high as 5.4 on the Richter scale.


The Genwal mine reported that the mine had caved in at 3:50 a.m., an hour after the magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded, the Emery County sheriff's office said.

The rescue attempt began around 3 a.m., the sheriff said.

“There appears to be no explosion," said Davit Mcateer, a former spokesman with the MSHA who said the six were all males working the midnight shift.

"You can get some shifting, or rock bursts, what are called outbursts. ... It’s quite a dangerous situation,” Mcateer said.

Rocky Mountain Power, which owns a different coal mine nearby, sent a rescue team and heavy equipment, spokesman Dave Eskelsen said.

A command center had been set up in Huntington, about 15 miles from the mine, said Teresa Behunin, an accountant affiliated with the mine.

She had no other details.

The sheriff's office earlier had said there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries blamed on the quake.

"We aren't panicked yet," Linda Jewkes, president of the Emery County Chamber of Commerce, said after hearing the news. "We're very, very concerned and very cautious when it comes to the mines."

Utah ranked 12th in coal production in 2006. It had 13 underground coal mines in 2005, the most recent statistics available, according to the Utah Geological Survey.

Emery County, the state's No. 2 coal-producer, also was the site of a fire that killed 27 people in the Wilburg mine in December 1984.

“We all know of people that are there and related to those people," said Huntington Mayor Hilary Gordon, referring to the small-town community surrounding the mine.

"Our chief prayer and hope is that these miners are rescued safely and that they are unharmed."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

May be days before searchers reach trapped miners
By Christopher Smart
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 08/06/2007 02:53:34 PM MDT

HUNTINGTON CANYON -- It could take up to two days for rescue crews to reach six trapped miners, but the owner of central Utah's Crandall Canyon coal mine insists he is optimistic they will be found alive.
"I think the odds are better than 50 percent we will be pulling those men out unharmed," said Robert Murray, CEO and president of Cleveland-based Murray Energy Corp., the Emery County mine's parent company. "Everything humanly possible is being done to get to these miners."
Murray said methods include a massive drilling rig, flown in earlier today by helicopter, and plans to tunnel horizontally toward the trapped miners, in some cases through older, dormant shafts. He said rescuers had gotten within 1,700 feet of the six, but falling debris temporarly halted their progress.
Murray flew into Utah after hearing of the cave-in at the mine, better known locally as the Genwal mine. While the six miners had not been heard from by mid-afternoon, Murray said he believes they survived -- and that is what he told their family members during a meeting earlier today.
"The families didn't say much. I didn't know what much to say, either," Murray added, though he reiterated that "there is a very, very good chance [they will be found] unharmed in every way and in good condition.
"I'm hoping and praying," he said. "In 20
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years, Murray Energy has never had a major accident."
Four other workers in the mine at the time of the collapse escaped, Murray said.
He said his company employs 700 miners in four Utah mines and operates 11 coal mines nationally with 3,300 on the payroll.
Crandall Canyon mine was so equipped and supplied that the men likely have two or more days worth of air and water, Murray said, but added he hoped an army of more than 170 rescue workers would reach them sooner than that.
"We are using four different methods to get to them," he said, but refused to further describe them in greater detail due to their complexity. "Just trust us" that all efforts are being made to rescue the men, he added.
The men are believed trapped in a section of the mine 3.4 miles from the entrance, and about 1,700 feet down, Murray said. Rescuers were within 1,500 feet of their presumed location.
The University of Utah Seismograph Stations suggested that the mine collapse may have been the magnitude 3.9 seismic event recorded this morning. Considering the preliminary data, the scientists said there is little evidence that an earthquake triggered the mine collapse.
Murray vehemently disputed that, claiming instead that the earthquake caused the collapse.
But Relu Burlacu, manager of the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, said early data from regional sensors indicate waves that are more consistent with an implosion than an earthquake.
"It doesn't fit the model of an earthquake," he said, but stressed that this is not a definitive answer.
Murray argued that the cause of the collapse had to be the quake, since operations were not being run within a mile of the cave-in location. He also claimed the epicenter of the quake was less than a mile away -- about 5,000 feet -- from the Crandall mine.
Gov. Jon Huntsman, who was attending a meeting in Boise with governors from Idaho and Nevada, left early to be briefed on the mining disaster.
When asked about the situation, Huntsman said:
"Obviously, I am very, very concerned. We had 4.0 magnitude earthquake. We have six miners who are trapped in the Huntington Canyon area. This is obviously a situation that concerns me and every other Utahn greatly right now. We are going to expend any resource we have and go to any effort to make sure lives are put first and foremost.
Rocky Mountain Power spokesman Dave Eskelsen said his company has members of its mine rescue team on standby to help in the search efforts. They are active, experienced miners who are trained to enter hazardous areas when walls and ceilings are not secure, he said.
"They can search when it might be difficult to access and see," Eskelsen said.
The first priority of a search like this is to access the mine without major risk, he said.
Rocky Mountain Power also has donated heavy excavating equipment and expects its rescue team to stay at the mine as long as it takes.
"Miners are a very tight organization, Eskelsen said. "Miners stick together."
Huntington Mayor Hillary Gordon told Fox News Channel that everyone in the small town "are all connected here."
"We all know of people there and are related to those people," she told Fox. "When you have small towns, we are all literally related. Our concern is for everyone."
Southeastern Utah has a history of past mine disasters. In 2000, two men died during an explosion at the Willow Creek mine; in 1984, a fire in the Wilberg mine killed 27; a 1924 explosion took 172 lives at the Castle Gate mine, and the Scofield mine disaster of 1900 claimed 200.
-- Tribune staff writers Russ Rizzo, Jason Bergreen, Greg Lavine, Glen Warchol and Paul Beebe contributed to this report.

Six Trapped in Collapsed Utah Coal Mine

Monday , August 06, 2007

AP
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HUNTINGTON, Utah —
Hundreds of rescuers struggled with falling rock and debris Monday in a desperate race to reach six coal miners trapped 1,500 feet below ground by a cave-in so powerful authorities initially thought it was an earthquake.

As the rescue stretched into the night, workers were unable to make significant progress and the initial effort was declared a failure.

"I'm very disappointed. That's one step backward," Robert E. Murray, chairman ofMurray Energy Corp. of Cleveland, a part owner of the Crandall Canyon mine, told reporters at an evening briefing.

Click here to watch video at MyFoxUtah.com.

More than 16 hours after the collapse, which did not appear related to an explosion, searchers had been unable to contact the miners and could not say whether they were dead or alive. If they survived, Murray said, they could have enough air and water to last several days.

"We're going to get them," he said. "There is nothing on my mind right now except getting those miners out."

The mining crew was believed to be about four miles from the mine entrance. Rescuers were working to free the men by drilling into the mine vertically from the mountaintop and horizontally from the side, Murray said. Officials estimated that drilling vertically could take three days.

If they are able to open an old mine shaft, Murray said, rescuers believe they can get within 100 feet of where the men are trapped.

"The idea is to get a hole into where they are," Murray said. "They could be in a chamber 1,000 feet long or they could be dead. We just don't know right now."

Doug Johnson, director of corporate services at an affiliated company, UtahAmerican Energy, said rescuers had made "decent progress," but they were not much closer to the men.

Relatives of the miners waited for news at a nearby senior center. Many of the family members don't speak English, so Huntington Mayor Hilary Gordon hugged them, put her hands over her heart and then clasped them together to let them know she was praying for them, she said.

"Past experience tells us these things don't go very well," said Gordon, whose husband is a former miner.

Outside the senior center, Ariana Sanchez, 16, said her father Manuel Sanchez, 42, was among the trapped miners. She said she cried when her mother told her the news, and declined further comment.

The mine uses a method called "retreat mining," in which pillars of coal are used to hold up an area of the mine's roof. When that area is completely mined, the company pulls the pillar and grabs the useful coal, causing an intentional collapse. Experts say it is one of the most dangerous mining methods.

Federal mine-safety inspectors, who have issued more than 300 citations against the mine since January 2004, were also on hand to help oversee the search.

Murray said no expense would be spared to save the men. The company had enlisted the help of 200 employees and four rescue crews, and brought in all available equipment from around the state.

The mine is built into a mountain in the rugged Manti-La Sal National Forest, 140 miles south of Salt Lake City, in a sparsely populated area.

By mid-afternoon, rescuers were within 1,700 feet of the miners' presumed location, Murray said. It was not known what kind of breathing equipment the miners had.

University of Utah seismograph stations recorded seismic waves of 3.9 magnitude around early Monday in the area of the mine, causing speculation that a minor earthquake had caused the cave-in. Scientists later realized the collapse at the mine had caused the disturbance, reported to authorities around 4 a.m. But by late afternoon, they said a natural earthquake could not be ruled out and more information was needed to conclusively determine what happened.

Murray said the earthquake's epicenter was a mile from the trapped miners.

"The whole problem has been caused by an earthquake," Murray angrily insisted.

Since the mid-1990s, at least a half-dozen other mine collapses have caused similar seismic waves, including a 1995 cave-in in southwestern Wyoming that caused readings as high as a magnitude 5.4.

Murray believed the miners have plenty of air because oxygen naturally leaks into the mine. The mine also is stocked with drinking water.

"I'm so hopeful for those guys. They should have lots of oxygen to breathe," said Mary Ann Wright, associate director for mining in the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining.

"From not having heard that there's any type of fire, that's always good news. If they're trapped in a cavern area, there should be oxygen to breathe," Wright said.

Government mine inspectors have issued 325 citations against the mine since January 2004, according to a quick analysis of federal Mine Safety and Health Administration online records. Of those, 116 were what the government considered "significant and substantial," meaning they are likely to cause injury.

The 325 safety violations is not unusual, said J. Davitt McAteer, former head of the MHSA and now vice president of Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia.

"It's not perfect but it's certainly not bad," McAteer said. "It would be in the medium range."

In 2007, inspectors have issued 32 citations against the mine, 14 of them considered significant.

Last month, inspectors cited the mine for violating a rule requiring that at least two separate passageways be designated for escape in an emergency.

It was the third time in less than two years that the mine had been cited for the same problem, according to MSHA records. In 2005, MSHA ordered the mine owners to pay $963 for not having escapeways and the 2006 fine for the same problem was just $60.

Overall, the federal government has ordered the mine owner to pay nearly $152,000 in penalties for its 325 violations with many citations having no fines calculated yet. Since January, the mine owner has paid $130,678 in fines, according to MSHA records.

Asked about safety, Murray told reporters: "I believe we run a very safe coal mine. We've had an excellent record."

Gov. Jon Huntsman broke away from a wildfire forum in Boise, Idaho, to return to Utah.

"We're going to expend every resource we have and make every effort to make sure lives are put first and foremost," he said as he departed Boise.

The head of MSHA, Richard Stickler, said he would be at the site Tuesday.

Utah ranked 12th in coal production in 2006. It had 13 underground coal mines in 2005, the most recent statistics available, according to the Utah Geological Survey.

Emery County, the state's No. 2 coal-producer, also was the site of a fire that killed 27 people in the Wilburg mine in December 1984.

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Hole at Utah mine yields little oxygen

By JENNIFER DOBNER, Associated Press Writer 42 minutes ago

HUNTINGTON, Utah - The effort to find six coal miners caught in a cave-in took a disheartening turn Friday when a narrow hole drilled more than 1,800 feet down into the earth yielded no sounds of life and barely any oxygen.


The drill entered an area where the miners were thought to be working at the time of Monday's collapse. Mine officials had earlier though their drill had simply hit a sealed, abandoned area of the mine that had little oxygen.

Readings of air composition at the bore hole showed there was not enough oxygen to support life. But officials kept up hope, saying the miners may have fled to another area that could have more oxygen.

"It's difficult to say. I'm not going to speculate," Rob Moore, vice president of Murray Energy Corp., a co-owner of the Crandall Canyon Mine, said after a news conference Friday evening.

Initial readings showing oxygen levels above 20 percent — a breathable atmosphere — were samples from the bore hole itself and not the mine, said Bob Murray, chief of Murray Energy. There was no sign of carbon dioxide to indicate the exhalations of people.

When the drill was raised a few feet to clear it from debris, the oxygen readings fell to just over 7 percent and have remained there, said Richard Stickler, head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

"Normal oxygen is 21 percent," he said. "Once you get down to 15 percent you start having effects, and at 7 1/2 percent, it would not support life very long."

Mine officials said the drill drifted on its long descent through the hard sandstone and speculated that it had penetrated an old, sealed-off work area, where low oxygen levels would be expected. Further measurements showed the drill actually hit an active mining section.

A second, wider hole being drilled into the same area of the mine had come within about 240 feet of breaking through as of Friday evening. When it does, rescuers will drop down audio and visual equipment that could pick up signs of life. The 1,886-foot hole would also be big enough to send down food and water, Stickler said.

Separately, rescuers tried to make their way horizontally toward the miners, struggling to remove the rubble from the mine shaft. But it could take another week to actually reach the men and bring them out.

The mother of missing miner Don Erickson refused to be discouraged.

"We keep getting these other bits and pieces that are encouraging, so we're going to hold onto that for now," said the 69-year-old woman, who asked that her name not be used because she did not want to receive calls.

Around Huntington, a rugged town of around 2,000, the men's plight evoked a similar, understated reaction, reflecting perhaps the stoicism of a community well-acquainted with the risks of digging coal deep below the earth's surface.

The six-man mining crew was a ragtag combination of personalities — longtime residents and recent Mexican immigrants; grizzled veteran miners and a rookie who had put in just weeks on the job; a "bullheaded" older guy and a "sweet, sweet" young man.

Huntington displayed signs of hope for the miners. Red, yellow and blue ribbons hung from light poles, and over Earl's Bargains furniture store a sign declared, "We believe." Another sign read: "Light up your porch until they come home."

Huntington is a town of wide streets lined by small single-story homes with tidy green lawns and some trailer parks. Multiple churches represent various denominations. The lone movie theater shows films four days a week. Yard sales are held on Main Street to support the Boy Scouts.

Its residents have sought to protect the privacy of the missing miners' families, posting a sign on a Main Street market asking the news media not to bother asking questions.

The mining company has not identified the miners, but The Associated Press has learned they are a crew of veterans and novices. According to family, friends and other sources they are: Carlos Payan, in his 20s; Kerry Allred, 57; Manuel Sanchez, 41; Brandon Phillips, 24; Luis Hernandez, age unknown; and Erickson, 50.

Erickson's mother described the eldest of her four children as solid, loving and considerate. "He's my wonderful son," she said, breaking into tears. "You couldn't ask for better."

Married to wife Nelda for about a dozen years, Erickson is a father of two and stepfather to his wife's three children, she said. Nelda Erickson told the AP that her husband loved the outdoors, camping and four-wheeling.

"Don is a husband, a father, a son, a grandfather and a friend," she said.

Payan had not worked very long at the mine and planned to return soon to Mexico, according to two friends. A sister lives in Huntington, and their parents traveled from Mexico after the cave-in.

"He wasn't out a lot. He just worked and worked and worked," said family friend Iliana Sebreros, 13.

Sanchez, 41, has been a miner for 15 years, said a sister, Maria Buenrostro.

"He is a great human being. He's a family man and a brother who can't be replaced," said brother Cesar Sanchez. "He is a person who has lots of friends and is an enormous worker."

The brother said they were both born in Casas Grandes in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

Phillips and Allred had attended high school in Castle Dale, near Huntington.

Allred, who played in a rock band while in high school, has three children, all adults, acquaintances said.

Bill Tucker, a 60-year-old former miner who lives in Huntington, described Allred as a "bullheaded" guy who plays guitars and sings — George Jones and country western music are his favorites. Tucker and Allred grew up together in Cleveland, Utah. Allred's father taught them both to play guitar, and they often sat around jamming together.

"He's always happy. He's just an all-around good boy," Tucker said. "He's a tough kid. It's just his disposition. If something were in the road, he'd move it."

Earlene Mason of Huntington said she met Allred six years ago while she worked as a mini-mart cashier. She said his family attends a Baptist church in Castle Dale. "He likes to joke around," she said. "He's always smiling."

Marcey Wilson, a neighbor of Phillips in Orangeville, said her husband, who works at the mine, trained Phillips three weeks ago. "He was a sweet, sweet guy," Wilson said.

In high school, "he was just a skinny little kid and always had those baggy jeans on," Emery High School secretary Paula Gordon said. In his yearbook photos, his head is shaved.

Hernandez was identified by the Mexican newspaper El Universal, which said he was hired by the mine about two months ago. Relatives in Utah told an AP reporter they did not want to be interviewed.

___

Associated Press writers Pauline Arrillaga, Brock Vergakis, Garance Burke and Alicia Caldwell contributed to this report.