Rescue crews have drilled to within 500 feet (150 meters) of where six coal miners are thought to be trapped deep underground in the western U.S., encouraging those on the surface that the mens' fate might soon be known, according to AP. A 2½-inch-diameter (6.4-centimeter wide) hole reached a depth of 1,000 feet (300 meters) late Wednesday while another drilling, slightly less than 9 inches (23 centimeters) wide, had reached 100 feet (30 meters), said mine general manager Lane Adair. The drills have been aimed at the presumed location 1,500 feet (450 meters) below ground where the miners were last heard from following a cave-in Monday at the Crandall Canyon mine 140 miles (225 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City. The smaller hole would allow a communications line to be lowered to the entombed miners, while the larger shaft would permit food and water to be lowered into the depths. The mining company predicted both holes could be finished in 48 hours or less, although there was potential for equipment breakdowns and dangerous ground shifts. «Obviously we're dealing with the unknown,» said Rob Moore, vice president of Murray Energy Corp., part owner of the mine. The miners' families have been receiving private briefings on the rescue effort by Bob Murray, chairman of Murray Energy. Murray said he took two relatives of the trapped miners on an underground tour Wednesday. Murray offered no estimate on how long the miners could survive _ if they are still alive _ but backed off a claim Tuesday that they could subsist for perhaps weeks on available air. «The oxygen depends on the size of the cavity they are in, and I have no idea what size that cavity is,» he said Wednesday. News of the successful drilling effort brought a sense of progress after falling rock on Tuesday forced rescuers to retreat from rubble-filled mine shafts that were believed to be the fastest way to reach the six miners. Work on an underground route resumed Wednesday. «With a little help from God and a little luck, they'll get out,» said mine safety manager Bodee Allred. Murray's company has 19 mines in five U.S. states that vary widely in the number of fines, citations and injuries, according to an Associated Press review of federal Mine Safety and Health Administration records. At Crandall Canyon mine, the safety record was remarkably good, said R. Larry Grayson, a professor of mining engineering at Penn State University. On Wednesday, Murray led a truckload of journalists to just outside the mine's entrance in a narrow canyon surrounded by the national forest. The trapped miners are believed to be 3.4 miles (5½ kilometers) from the entrance. Two parallel shafts lead deep into the Crandall Canyon mine, linked by smaller tunnels about every 130 feet (40 meters). The walls of both passageways appeared to have imploded, creating a debris pile of dirt, coal and splintered timbers that nearly fills the 8 foot (2½ meter) by 14 foot (4 meter) mine shafts. In the nearby town of Huntington, several hundred people filled bleachers at the rodeo grounds Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil. Men and women wiped away tears as Baptist pastor Sam Wilbanks prayed for the miners' safe return. «Lord, I just pray again for these men that are in that old dark coal. Lord, I just pray tonight that the light of Jesus Christ might shine there tonight and they might know with all their heart that you are there with them,» he said. Under a star-filled sky, the audience lit candles one by one and placed them in the stadium dirt, spelling out the word «hope.» Murray's meeting with the miners' families Wednesday took place at a school in Huntington. At one point, he left the building, paced outside and returned. Maria Buenrostro, the sister of trapped miner Manuel Sanchez, said Murray got angry with relatives' questions and walked out. She also said there was no interpreter for three Spanish-speaking families. «We want the truth, that's all we want,» said Buenrostro, 40. «If there's nothing that they can do about it, you know, just tell us so we know what to expect when they bring them out.» Murray said the families had thanked him. «You can't make everybody happy,» he said. «In a trauma like this, as the days wear on, tensions become more and more. I have been truthful with them.»
