Time running out for nine miners trapped in flooded shaft

TIME was running out last night to pull nine trapped miners from a 240ft watery shaft after rescue efforts were delayed when a giant drill bit broke.

Anguished families held a vigil at the site as the race intensified to save their loved ones from a growing threat of hypothermia, more than 36 hours after a cave-in left them stranded in the 2.5ft wide chamber.

“It’s 50-50, the likelihood of success,” said Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker. “It puts you in a very prayerful mood.”

Drilling of a new rescue shaft started yesterday following a frustrating eight hour delay after the machinery snapped on rock about 100 metres under the Que Creek mine, 60 miles south-east of Pittsburgh.

But officials have cautioned that they are not certain how many miners might still be alive.

The men, aged 30-55, have been trapped since 1am on Thursday after they accidentally drilled into an abandoned, flooded mine, releasing 50 million gallons of water into their own shaft and triggering a cave-in.

It is believed they were given the wrong maps and thought the old mine was 300ft away. The miners are able to communicate with rescuers by tapping on a six-inch pipe casing that authorities used to deliver compressed air to the underground cavity.

The last distinct taps were heard around 3.30pm on Thursday , but officials said later signals may have been obscured by increasing activity at the site.

Rescuers began pumping compressed air into the mine shaft 300ft below the surface five hours after the accident.

But the efforts suffered a major setback when the giant drill rig on which the rescue hinges stopped working early yesterday morning.

New equipment was flown in and the broken bit had to be retrieved before work was able to restart about eight hours later.

“This is a very tricky and dangerous situation, and I don’t want to raise expectations,” said David Hess, Pennsylvania Secretary of Environmental Protection.

Betsy Mallison, a spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Protection, said: “We have not given up hope on the miners.

“We are working very diligently to get them out.”

More than 100 relatives of the trapped men gathered at a fire company hall near the mine where the Red Cross had set up a shelter complete with counsellors.

“They’re mining families. They are tough, resilient and hopeful people,” said Mr Schweiker.

He added that he had knelt and prayed alongside the families, some of whom had more than one relative trapped in the mine.