According to Crandall Canyon mine co-owner Robert Murray, rescuers are within 500 feet of reaching a point of contact with the six miners who were trapped in the mine earlier this week. Once contact is made, more air and supplies are expected to reach the miners although rescue will involve a larger operation and perhaps six or seven days.
At this point, it is still unknown whether the miners are alive but it is possible. Family and friends maintain vigilant hope at a local junior high school, which the mining company has rented specifically for their gathering together.
The company advised relatives not to talk to the media, which is perhaps one reason why this story isn't on the front pages of newspapers across the country. Granted, one more mining disaster isn't a surprise. Yet, issues that arise from this kind of devastation need to be discussed - mine safety first and foremost among them. This morning, Murray told Meredith Viera of the Today show that, as a 20-year veteran of the mining business he had an "admirable safety record" and that Crandall Canyon was "in total compliance with all laws...including federal Mine Safety and Health Administration [laws]..." However, the mine has received over 300 citations in the past three years. Although this is apparently not unusual in the coal mining industry, 116 of Crandall Canyon's citations were rated "significant and substantial." Just last month, the coal mine was cited for violating the MSHA requirement for having sufficient escape passageways.
Additionally, the tragedy brings up the feasibility of coal mining and what the future holds for this type of energy resource.
There is also the question of who the trapped workers are and where they legally reside. Only one trapped miner has officially been identified so far: Manuel Sanchez. However, relatives of Kerry Allred and Don Erickson have revealed that these two men are also among the trapped. At least three of the trapped miners are Mexican, but whether they are residents of the U.S. is unclear.
Although Murray said this morning that "there is likely air down there...and enough ventilation to sustain their life until we get through to them with a drill this afternoon," the depth at which the six miners are trapped is unusual. When the Sago Miners were rescued from a Virginia mine last year, they were located at just 280 feet beneath the earth's surface compared to the 1,700 foot depth of the Crandall Canyon miners.
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Comments: 22
And, one can sincerely wish to see Robert Murray slowly suffocate in an inaccesible pit somewhere.
This is one of "the industry can self-regulate" bastards who has led numerous attacks on legitimate government enforcement of workplace safety rules.
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