Owner: Rescue to Take 3 Days, Quake Caused Collapse

Aug. 7, 2007 — -- Even if they're still alive, the six miners trapped 1,500 feet below ground wouldn't have heard the boss, but he was intent on making sure everyone else did.

An earthquake caused the coal mine to collapse, it will take at least three days to reach the miners and when rescue workers do, there's no guarantee the workers are dead or alive, mine owner Robert Murray said during an at times rambling press conference in which he also accused some in the news media of getting the story wrong.

"If they're dead, the shock of the earthquake, the concussion killed them, and they died instantly, that's the one scenario," Murray said, repeatedly defending the safety record of his mine operation and saluting the American coal industry.

"The other scenario is that they're very much alive and we're going to rescue them," Murray said. "The Lord has already decided whether they're alive or dead."

Murray also insisted today that an earthquake early Monday morning had triggered the cave-in at the Crandall Canyon Mine, 140 miles south of Salt Lake City -- a point that is still very much in dispute.

Walter Arabasz, the head of the University of Utah's federal seismograph stations, told The Associated Press Monday that the wavelengths in the seismography readings showed a connection between the earthquake and the collapse but suggested the pattern was "consistent with the idea that the mine collapse caused the earthquake."

The U.S. Geological Survey, citing the measurements taken by the university, stated on its Web site that more information would be needed before a causul determination could be made.

"Seismologists have not yet determined how the earthquake of August 6 might be related to the occurrence of a collapse at the nearby Crandall Canyon coal mine that, as of midday August 6, had left six miners unaccounted for," according to the federal government's summary of the seismic event.

Since the mid-1990s, at least a half-dozen other mine collapses have caused similar seismic waves, including a 1995 cave-in southwestern Wyoming that caused readings as high as a magnitude of 5.4.

Murray, however, pointed to the same seismography readouts as evidence that the earthquake preceded the collapse: They show that the epicenter of the earthquake was some 5,000 feet away from where the miners were and occurred an hour earlier than the collapse was reported, taking place over multiple minutes rather than the short jolts that a cave-in would create on a readout.

"This was an earthquake," Murray said. "It had nothing to do with our mining activity."

Murray laid out various methods mine workers may use to reach the trapped men. A helicopter drill could hit the ground from above and may be able, over three days, to free up a small hole that could be used to pass water and food to miners were they alive.

Bulldozers cleared out enough room overnight for a massive drill to get access to the scene, a method that may take two days, Weiss said. Horizontal drilling could be another way to reach the miners.

One method that already failed was tapping former mine seals. That proved too risky and forced mine workers out of the coal mine early this morning.

A seismic listening device was also brought in to establish contact, Murray said. Once in place, dynamite will be ignited and the listening device will be used to determine whether the trapped miners are tapping the ceiling of the mine with their hammers to signal in response.

The trapped miners were part of a 10-man team working inside the mine roughly 3.4 milers from the mine entrance when the collapse occurred. Rescuers were able to reach a point about 1,700 feet from that distance before being blocked by debris. Since then they have only managed to get 310 feet closer to the miners.

If they are alive, the miners would have plenty of air because oxygen naturally leaks into the mine, Murray said. The mine is also stocked with drinking water.

A pair of congressmen rebuked Murray for his remarks and implored the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, which oversees mine safety, to take control of public information flow.

"Following the Sago disaster, during which miners' families received incorrect information from the mine operator, the Congress made it the primary responsibility of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration to provide the families and members of the news media with the most accurate possible information," the statement, issued by U.S. Reps. George Miller, D-Calif., and Lynn Woolsey, D-Dalif., read. "The news conference held this morning at the mine did not meet this standard."

In the 2006 Sago mine disaster in West Virginia, 13 workers were trapped for two days and just a single miner ultimately survived. Erroneous reports that 12 of the miners had been rescued alive, however, gave loved ones of the missing false hope.

Friends and relatives of the miners trapped in the Utah collapse kept a painful overnight vigil in the tiny town, praying that the miners are still alive.

"It's a pretty somber scene, but in a small community we come together any way we can," said Judy Bishop, a friend of one of the miners. "Whether it's taking food, holding someone's hand or just being together as a group and saying lots of prayers."

Risky Retreat Mining?

Murray also disputed reports that the men were "retreat mining"-- one of the riskiest forms of coal extraction. After removing all the coal from an area, the retreat miners then drill into the pillars that support the roof, collecting the last bit of useful coal and causing an intentional collapse as they retreat.

"I wish you would take that word "retreat mining" out of your vocabulary," Murray said, describing the area of the cave-in as held up by "eight solid pillars." According to Murray, "retreat mining" is a term used by labor groups eager to seize control of his mine, which is not mined by union miners.

The mine's safety record is mixed. Just last month inspectors cited Crandall Canyon for violating a rule requiring that at least two separate passageways be designated for escape in case of emergency.

Government mine inspectors have issued more than 300 citations against the mine since January 2004, according to federal Mine Safety and Health Administration records. Of those, 116 were classified as "significant and substantial," meaning they would be likely to cause injury. This year, the mine has been cited 32 times, and last month, inspectors cited the mine for violating a rule that required at least two separate escape passages.

The number of citations, while perhaps alarming, is not unusual, according to J. Davitt McAteer, the former head of the MSHA.

The federal government has ordered the mine to pay more than $150,000 in penalties for the violations, according to federal records.

Utah ranked 12 in U.S. coal production in 2006 and in 2005, and had 13 underground coal mines, according to the Utah Geological Survey.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.