Rescuers trying to reach 13 trapped miners in a United States coal mine said on Tuesday that they were ”very discouraged” at the levels of carbon monoxide they had detected.
The dangerously high level of gas was discovered after a hole was successfully drilled into the tunnel where the miners are believed to be barricaded, about 80m below the surface.
The men are thought to have become trapped following an explosion at 6.40am local time (11.40am GMT) on Mondau at the Sago mine in West Virginia.
No contact has been made and no signs of life detected so far from the miners, who are thought to be at the end of an angled shaft around three kilometres from the mine’s entrance.
Just after 12pm GMT on Tuesday a drill hole was punched into the tunnel, and a camera lowered through, but no signs of life detected. Listening devices also failed to pick up any indications of survivors.
Ben Hatfield, chief executive officer of mine owner International Coal Group, told reporters that sensors lowered into the hole had brought discouraging news.
He said the level of carbon monoxide, a by-product of combustion, ”far exceeds” the regulatory limits for safe exposure. He added that there was no sign of any fires.
Hatfield said: ”We are very disappointed by the information we have received so far [but] we remain determined to continue the search as long as there is hope.”
Rescuers were hoping that the miners were barricaded in an area with safer air. State governor Joe Manchin told ABC News: ”We’re still hoping for that miracle.”
Hatfield said a robot device would be sent into the tunnel later today to try and speed up the rescue operation.
The robot is equipped with cameras and sensors to assess the air quality and will carry out an investigation of a wider area. Rescue teams, fearful of dangerous carbon monoxide levels, are holding back from the area ahead of the robot reporting back on whether it is safe for them to get closer in on foot.
It is not known what caused the explosion. Typically coal mine blasts are caused by the build-up of methane gas but Hatfield said the sensors put through the hole did not show a worrying level of methane.
Lara Ramsburg, a spokesperson for governor Manchin, said the blast may have been sparked by lightning from severe thunderstorms. Other officials said it was too early to say what caused it.
The trapped miners were working on the first shift since the Christmas holidays.
The miners have individual air purifying systems that would give them up to seven hours of clean air, said Tim McGee, who works at the mine and was among those waiting for news at the nearby Sago Baptist Church. They do not carry oxygen tanks, he said.
The blast knocked out the mine’s communication equipment, preventing authorities from contacting the miners.
Several hundred family members and friends were waiting on the surface for news, including Daniel Merideth, the son-in-law of trapped miner Alby Martin Bennett, who had planned to retire this year.
Merideth said: ”Every day he would come home and pray for who was going in. Right now he is probably … organising and praying.”
Officials said today that around 90 rescuers on site were reporting that the mine was still in ”good shape” despite the blast.
Gene Kitts, a senior vice-president for mine owner International Coal Group, said the miners each had between three and 30 years experience and are trained to try to tap on roots, waterlines, anything possible, to alert rescuers of their location.
”This is not a rookie crew underground,” Kitts said. ”So we’re just trusting that their training and their mining instincts have kicked in immediately … We will expect to be there quick enough so that food, water, those sorts of issues probably will not come into play.”
ICG acquired the Sago Mine last March when it bought Anker West Virginia Mining, which had been in bankruptcy.
The Associated Press reported on Monday that the mine had been cited for 46 alleged violations of federal safety regulations during an 11-week review that ended on December 22. Among the more serious alleged violations were the mine’s protections against roof collapses and controls for methane gas. It received 185 citations from the federal regulatory agency during 2005, up from 68 in 2004.
Kitts said safety at the mine in Upshur County has improved dramatically since ICG took over and the company is working closely with regulatory agencies to make further improvements.
”We think that we are operating a safe mine,” he said. ”We have no real clue about what triggered this explosion or what happened today.” – Guardian Unlimited Â