The facility has a history of problems, which include 325 citations issued by mine inspectors since the beginning of 2004. 116 of those were considered "Significant and Substantial" by federal standards.
(HUNTINGTON, Utah) - Heavy machinery has been brought in to the site of a collapsed coal mine in Utah where six miners are trapped. Rescuers are hoping that the equipment can help them reach the trapped men 1,500 feet below the surface of the earth.
A representative of the Murray Energy Corp. of Cleveland says they do know where the men are. It was not clear though if they have adequate breathing equipment, lights and emergency food supplies.
But he added that they really have no idea whether or not the men are alive.
The mine is built into a mountain in the rugged Manti-La Sal National Forest, 140 miles south of Salt Lake City, in a sparsely populated area.
Huntington Mayor Hilary Gordon was quoted by the AP saying that, "Past experience tells us these things don't go very well." Her husband is a former miner.
Complicating problems is the fact that many of the miners do not speak English. The families of the men are gathered at a community center in Huntington to await word of their fate.
There has been some additional speculation from the University of Utah as to the origin of the 4.0 magnitude event that was recorded around 4:00 AM Monday; Relu Burlacu who heads the Seismograph Network at the University of Utah's Seismology Department, told Salem-News.com Monday that the collapse could just have likely caused the earthquake.
Robert E. Murray, chairman of Murray Energy Corp., says it was the other way around, and the blast was not the cause of the quake, but the result of it. The debate became heated Monday as searchers inched their way through rock walls in an effort to locate the trapped miners. By the end of the afternoon the university admitted it was possible that the blast could have resulted from an earthquake.
The Crandall Canyon mine near Huntington, Utah is about 140 miles south of Salt Lake City, in the Manti-La Sal National Forest in a sparsely populated area, in a narrow for trucks and other vehicles to drive inside and transport miners throughout the various work areas.
The facility has a history and what could only be described as a pattern of problems, which include 325 citations issued by mine inspectors since the beginning of 2004. 116 of those violations were considered "Significant and Substantial" by federal standards.
Inspectors were clear that "at least two separate and distinct travelable passageways shall be designated as escapeways," yet at this hour the rescue crews work with the understanding that no one knows the actual location of the missing miners, or whether or not they survived the cave in.
The federal government is pro mining, and short of that there is no explanation for why such a dangerous operation has been allowed the ability to continue operation without meeting standards imposed by the citations.
The mine is in the second biggest county for coal production in Utah, a state that ranks 12th in the nation as a coal producer. Yet the fines levied against Murray has barely exceeded $150,000.
Gov. Jon Huntsman left a wildfire forum in Boise, Idaho, to return to Utah and the scene of the collapsed mine.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families," he told reporters and others present.
News Darkens for Trapped Miners in UtahSalem-News.com