Drill reaches depth of trapped Utah miners

A drill boring a hole into a mountain reached a pocket where six US miners have been trapped for nearly four days, creating a tiny opening for a microphone and camera to determine if the men survived an earth-wrenching cave-in, a lawyer for the mine company said early today.

“We broke through. We have some developments we want to talk about,” attorney Christopher Van Bever said in Huntington, Utah.

The two-and-a-half-inch hole is a crucial passage for the first possible contact with the men since a collapse sealed them 1,500 feet below ground early on Monday at the Crandall Canyon mine in central Utah.

A bigger drill boring a nearly 9-inch hole – wide enough to accommodate food and water – was also moving toward the men’s presumed location, but remained many hours from the target.

The six miners have not been heard from since early Monday morning when the mine was hit by an earthshaking collapse. It has not been determined whether they are alive.

Rob Moore, vice president of Murray Energy Corp., said that a motor broke on the larger drill during the day and was replaced.

With the small drill at the miners’ depth, officials had said it would take two hours to withdraw the drill and lower a two-way communications device. A simple downward-pointing camera with limited visual range will also be lowered.

The larger hole will be used to lower a more powerful camera and could also deliver provisions to the men if they are alive.