Relatives frustrated by mine rescue delays

Anguished relatives of 29 workers missing after an explosion at New Zealand coal mine grew frustrated over delays in the rescue operation today, as officials prepared to drill a small hole through hundreds of feet of rock to test for levels of deadly gases.

Nothing has been heard from the men who were deep in the mine near Atarau on South Island when a massive blast ripped through it late on Friday. A working phone line to the bottom of the mine has been ringing unanswered.