Rescue effort leads to questions

Associated Press

RENO, Nev.

A father of five plunges deep into an abandoned mine shaft. Nearly 200 feet down, video images show he is injured but breathing, trapped by debris.

The century-old shaft, though, is extremely unstable, its walls crumbling. As one rescuer tries to descend to reach the man, he is hit by a large rock, which splits his hard-hat. Other efforts yield more falling rocks and clear evidence: This is going to be a dangerous mission — maybe too dangerous.

The scenario unfolded underneath Nevada last week, when rescue teams were told to stand down in their bid to reach 28-year-old Devin Westenskow, even as they had evidence he was still alive.

But the ethical questions are more universal: How do you balance the desire to save a human being in peril with the equally important priority of keeping emergency workers safe and alive to rescue another day?

“You’re playing God in a sense,” said Rob McGee, secretary-treasurer of the United States Mine Rescue Association.

McGee said he can’t recall a mine rescue operation that was halted while someone was still alive. But, he noted, a rescue gone awry compounds such a tragedy, adding another layer of grief. Only officials on the ground can know how best to proceed, he said.

Family members of Westenskow’s praised rescuers for their efforts and said they understood when told Friday of the decision to call off the rescue effort.

Such understanding wasn’t unanimous.

Corey Schuman, owner of Gold Rush Expeditions, a Salt Lake City-based company that locates and files claims on abandoned mines, questioned the decision to stop while Westenskow was still alive.