Desperate crawl to save trapped miners

A fireman walks disconsolately from the baptist church in Sago, West Virginia, where family members of trapped miners are gathered. Picture / Reuters

CHARLESTON - Rescuers were mounting a huge effort last night to reach 13 miners trapped deep inside a United States coal mine after an early morning explosion.

The men became trapped inside the Sago mine in central West Virginia, about 160km from Charleston, after an unexplained blast about 6.30am (12.30am NZ time yesterday), which occurred during a thunderstorm.

There has been no communication with the miners since.

Rescue teams had to wait 12 hours until ventilation fans removed high gas concentrations outside the mine.

Two teams of rescuers then began advancing through the shaft to reach the men 114m below ground level.

Last night the first team had made it 1600m along a 3.2km shaft to where the men were thought to be. They had not found any debris, said Roger Nicholson of General Counsel International Coal Group, which owns the mine. A second team was about 30 minutes behind them.

Another company official said that the rescue teams had to stop every 150m to test air quality and hook up a rescue telephone to the mine's shaft telephone lines. "It's a very slow, careful process," said Gene Kitts, of ICG Mining Services.

Mr Nicholson said a third team was due to start drilling down to the chamber in which the miners were thought to be trapped. They were hoping to test oxygen levels and drop a microphone down to listen for signs of life.

"We're really hoping and praying for a speedy recovery and a safe recovery for them," Governor Joe Manchin told CNN.

"We don't know what could have happened. It was just a horrific accident."

Hundreds of family and friends gathered at a nearby Baptist church where the Red Cross had set up operations.

"It could be hours, or it could be days," said Steve Milligan of Upshur County's Office of Emergency Management.

Local rescuers were joined by others from the neighbouring states of Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Loretta Abel said her fiance was among the trapped miners.

"He was going to call in sick today but he wanted to make more money for the holidays," she said.

Miners are equipped with breathing equipment and other survival supplies.

"There's always that possibility, that hope and that chance they were able to go to a part of the mine that still has safe air," Mr Manchin said.

"There's places they can retreat in all these mines. They have catacombs."

The explosion happened when the mine was reopening after being closed for the holidays, said Mr Manchin's spokeswoman, Lara Ramsburg.

Ms Ramsburg said two cars had been entering the mine and the second car, carrying six miners, got out after feeling the effects of the explosion.

The six miners tried to re-enter the mine to rescue their mates but could not reach them.

- REUTERS