Trapped Utah miners likely dead, officials warn families

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - The families of six Utah miners buried underground two weeks ago have been warned their loved ones are most likely dead and may never be found, officials said Monday.

Robert Murray, the owner of the Genwal Mine in Crandall Canyon, told reporters he had delivered the grim verdict to anxious families after rescue efforts remained halted following the deaths of three workers last week.

"I was very forthright," Murray said. "Their reception with me was not good, but at some point the reality must sink in."

The six men were entombed in the mine, which is situated in remote mountain region some 120 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Salt Lake City, on August 6 following a tunnel collapse.

An intensive operation to find the men was suspended on Thursday after three rescue workers were killed following a tunnel cave-in caused by a "seismic bump."

Experts have warned that seismic activity at the mine is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, effectively scuppering any attempts to tunnel underground to the cavern where the trapped me were believed to be.

Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration chief Richard Stickler told reporters Monday that the mine was "structurally unstable" and any subterranean rescue effort would be fraught with danger.

"This means the suspension we have on the underground operation will remain indefinitely," said Stickler, adding that no rescuers would venture into the mine unless there were concrete signs of life.

Rescuers initially said they were confident that the six miners may have survived. However there was no sign of life after four separate bore holes were punched through to their chamber some 1,500 feet (450 meters) below.

"The risk is unacceptable to send mine-rescue teams underground for the purpose of exploration," Stickler added.

Families of the six men on Sunday accused mine officials of giving up on the rescue effort after Murray Energy vice-president Rob Moore warned the miners may never be found.

"We continue to sit and wait," said Sonny Olsen, a spokesman for the families. "We are at the mercies of the officials in charge and their so-called experts. Precious time is being squandered and we do not have time to waste."

Olsen appealed for a special rescue capsule to be dropped through a one-meter (three-foot) shaft drilled straight down to the miners location.

The Utah drama has revived memories of the doomed effort to reach 13 miners trapped by an explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia in January 2006. Only one survived after being buried underground for 41 hours.