Priest says all in central Utah want to aid miners families, rescuers

Published: 2007-08-20

HUNTINGTON, Utah (CNS) -- Father Donald E. Hope, pastor of a mission church near the mine where six miners remained trapped, said that wherever he goes, people ask, "What can we do for the families of the trapped miners?" In locations from the parishes and missions of central Utah to its grocery stores, people have wanted to know what they can do for the families of the men trapped since Aug. 6, a mile inside and 1,800 feet down the Crandall Canyon Mine. On Aug. 17, the question changed, coming now from the families of the trapped miners: "What can we do for the families of the rescue workers who died in the mine?" Another cave-in took the life of three rescue workers and injured six others Aug. 16. They had been trying to dig underground through rubble to try to reach the trapped miners. The following day the head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said underground rescue efforts were being suspended indefinitely. On Aug. 19 at a press conference after meeting with families, mine co-owner and vice president Rob Moore said it was "likely that these miners will not be found." Later that day the trapped miners' families broke their silence with a press conference. Their spokesman, lawyer Sonny Olsen, said the families have been requesting the use of a rescue capsule "since day one." The capsule, which can lower a miner into the depth of the mine to look for survivors, would necessitate drilling a 30-inch hole from the top of the mine to an area where the trapped miners are believed to have taken refuge. An AP story said an attorney for the mining company said safety experts believe the mountain is too unstable to allow a hole for a capsule to be drilled.

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