No signs of life present in mine

No one in the town has given up hope, however.

HUNTINGTON, Utah (AP) — 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 thought their drill had simply hit a sealed, abandoned area of the mine that had little oxygen.

Air readings 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,” said Rob Moore, vice president of Murray Energy Corp., a co-owner of the Crandall Canyon Mine.

Oxygen levels

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 that people were exhaling.

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.”

Stickler said a second, wider drill had come within about 240 feet of the miners’ presumed location. Once that drill breaks through, rescuers will drop down audio and visual equipment that could pick up signs of life. The hole would also be big enough to send down food and water, Stickler said, and the drill could reach its target later Friday.

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.

Mining crew

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.

Rescuers had hoped to get at least some sign of life through the 2 1/2-inch-wide air hole drilled into the Crandall Canyon mine over the past several days.

But a tiny microphone lowered down the hole picked up no sounds.

Stickler cautioned that the small drill may have drifted on its long descent through the hard sandstone and may have entered the sealed chamber of an old work area next to where the miners were believed to have been.

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

A town’s support

Huntington displayed signs of hope for the miners. Red, yellow and blue ribbons hung from light poles, and over Earl’s Quality for Less 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 Don Erickson, 50.