Hopes of finding two trapped coal miners in a western Maryland town were fading Friday, three days after a main wall collapsed on them. Amy Louviere, a spokeswoman for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, said rescue workers digging in Barton, Md., had struck metal, likely the back end of a backhoe one of the men was in when the 125-foot-high wall collapsed, the Baltimore Sun reported. Workers also uncovered the blade of a bulldozer next to the backhoe that was being used by the other miner, UPI quoted Louviere as saying. The names of the men working at the at Tri-Star Mining Job No. 3 site have not been released. Bob Cornett, acting district manager for the federal mine agency, said he had told the men's families progress was slow based on safety concerns. "We said a prayer. ... I imagine if I was in their shoes, I would have hope," he said. "You have to temper that, but you have to have hope."
