HUNTINGTON, Utah — Hundreds of rescuers broke through walls of rock 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.
Hours after the collapse, searchers had been unable to contact the miners and could not say whether they were dead or alive. If they survived, a mine executive said, they could have enough air and water to last several days.
"We're going to get them," said Robert E. Murray, chairman of Murray Energy Corp. of Cleveland, a part owner of the mine, known locally as the Genwal mine.
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.
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.
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If they are able to open an old mine shaft, he added, rescuers believe they can get within 100 feet of where the men are trapped.
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.
University of Utah seismograph stations recorded seismic waves of 3.9 magnitude early Monday near the mine, causing speculation that an earthquake had caused the cave-in. Scientists later realized the collapse had caused the disturbance.
Murray disputed those findings, saying the epicenter was a mile from the trapped miners.
"The whole problem has been caused by an earthquake," Murray said.
Government mine inspectors have issued 325 citations against the mine since January 2004, according to 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.
In 2007, inspectors have issued 32 citations against the mine, 14 significant.
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."
