Rescuers break through US collapsed mine

HUNTINGTON (AFP) - Rescuers broke through into a cavity where six coal miners are believed to be trapped under a mountain in Utah, an official said Friday, several days after their mine collapsed.

"We know that the drill went into a void. That was good news," Richard Stickler, assistant secretary of state for mine safety, told reporters near the site of the mine in this western state.

The drill had a listening device directly behind it but no sound could so far be picked up inside the cavity, he said.

"I would not look at that as good or bad news," added Robert Murray, a director of Utah American Energy, which owns and operates the mine. "The work is not done."

Rescuers have been working relentlessly to reach the men, who have not been heard from since a tunnel they were working in at the Genwal Mine in Crandall Canyon, 200 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of Salt Lake City, collapsed Monday.