http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/13/mine.rescue/index.html
HUNTINGTON, Utah (CNN) -- Rescuers were expected to begin drilling a third hole Monday into the mountain encasing the Utah mine where six men have been trapped for more than a week, authorities said.
Murray Energy CEO Bob Murray says it's possible the miners are "very much alive."
The move was announced hours after a camera lowered into the mine showed no signs of the trapped miners.
Authorities had hoped that the camera dropped into a roughly 9-inch hole would show the miners and that a microphone lowered into a smaller hole would pick up any sounds the miners might make.
The microphone picked up no noises and attempts to signal the miners elicited no responses. View photos from the rescue efforts »
The camera, which had to be cleaned and lowered back into the mine after its horizontal lens got dirty on the first attempt Saturday, showed a tool bag and a chain, both commonplace in mines.
The camera also showed a 5½-foot-high space that authorities said the miners could survive in if there were enough air to sustain them. However, the limited light prevented the camera from picking up images farther than 15 feet away, said Richard Stickler, head of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. Watch the latest on the mine search »
A Monday attempt to sink the video camera into the coal mine yielded only a distorted image of a conveyor belt and an image of the mine cavity's intact roof, Al Davis, who oversees MSHA's Western operations, told The Associated Press.
"Rescue" missions generally refer to those in which victims are believed to be alive; "recovery" missions generally refer to those in which the victims are thought to be dead.
Murray Energy President and CEO Bob Murray said that it's "very possible" the miners are "very much alive."
"There are many ways that they could still be alive and that is the absolute fact," he said.
The third hole will extend 1,414 feet diagonally into the mine. The hole will be shorter than the previous two and will pierce a different section of the mine.
Moore told AP that drilling the third hole could take up to six days.
Murray previously said he believed he knew where the miners were located. Stickler said Sunday that authorities know the miners are in the working section of the mine, but they don't know precisely where.
HUNTINGTON, Utah (CNN) -- Rescuers were expected to begin drilling a third hole Monday into the mountain encasing the Utah mine where six men have been trapped for more than a week, authorities said.
Murray Energy CEO Bob Murray says it's possible the miners are "very much alive."
The move was announced hours after a camera lowered into the mine showed no signs of the trapped miners.
Authorities had hoped that the camera dropped into a roughly 9-inch hole would show the miners and that a microphone lowered into a smaller hole would pick up any sounds the miners might make.
The microphone picked up no noises and attempts to signal the miners elicited no responses. View photos from the rescue efforts »
The camera, which had to be cleaned and lowered back into the mine after its horizontal lens got dirty on the first attempt Saturday, showed a tool bag and a chain, both commonplace in mines.
The camera also showed a 5½-foot-high space that authorities said the miners could survive in if there were enough air to sustain them. However, the limited light prevented the camera from picking up images farther than 15 feet away, said Richard Stickler, head of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. Watch the latest on the mine search »
A Monday attempt to sink the video camera into the coal mine yielded only a distorted image of a conveyor belt and an image of the mine cavity's intact roof, Al Davis, who oversees MSHA's Western operations, told The Associated Press.
"Rescue" missions generally refer to those in which victims are believed to be alive; "recovery" missions generally refer to those in which the victims are thought to be dead.
Murray Energy President and CEO Bob Murray said that it's "very possible" the miners are "very much alive."
"There are many ways that they could still be alive and that is the absolute fact," he said.
The third hole will extend 1,414 feet diagonally into the mine. The hole will be shorter than the previous two and will pierce a different section of the mine.
Moore told AP that drilling the third hole could take up to six days.
Murray previously said he believed he knew where the miners were located. Stickler said Sunday that authorities know the miners are in the working section of the mine, but they don't know precisely where.
