Utah mine collapse shifts from rescue to closure, investigation

Wendy Black, widow of rescuer Dale Black, releases a six-month old golden eagle from the top of the Great Western Trail as friends and family of the miners and mine rescuers were invited to gather and send prayers for their loved ones aloft with the young eagle Friday near Sanpete County, Utah.

? Signs of prayer and support for six trapped miners remained on display Saturday as residents of central Utah’s coal belt struggled with the realization that the men would not be found alive.

“It’s a hard thing. Some are coping with it better than others,” said Colin King, a spokesman and lawyer for families of the six miners trapped nearly four weeks ago in a collapse. “They’re still dealing with the fact they have to accept now that these miners are not going to be recovered any time soon – that they’ve died, in all likelihood.”

Rescue efforts at the Crandall Canyon Mine were suspended indefinitely Friday.

A thunderous mountain shudder early Aug. 6 caused mine ribs to shatter, trapping Kerry Allred, Don Erickson, Luis Hernandez, Carlos Payan, Brandon Phillips and Manuel Sanchez. It is not known whether they survived the initial collapse.

Three rescuers working underground were killed in a second collapse Aug. 16, bringing an abrupt halt to tunnel-clearing efforts to reach the miners.

Rescue workers drilled seven holes deep into the mountain in search of the men more than 1,500 feet underground but found no signs of life. After a robotic camera became stuck in mud in one hole Friday, federal officials said they had run out of options and told families the search was ending.

“Sadly, there is no remaining hope of finding these miners alive,” MSHA chief Richard Stickler said in a statement Saturday.

It was a difficult blow for people in Utah’s coal country, where messages of hope adorned cars, homes and businesses throughout Carbon and Emery counties and where residents have gathered for prayer services and vigils in the weeks since the collapse.

President Bush issued a statement Saturday praising central Utah’s coal community for inspiring the nation with its “incredible strength and courage in the face of tremendous loss.”

A nondenominational memorial service for the six men on the football field at a junior high school was being planned for Sept. 9. A fundraiser is planned for Sept. 15.

As the community begins to heal its emotional scars, the federal government will begin investigating the circumstances that led to the initial cave-in.

A Mine Safety and Health Administration team will begin arriving in Huntington, about 120 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, on Tuesday to began the investigation, said Rich Kulczewski, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Labor, which oversees MSHA.