Utah Coal Miners Trapped After Earthquake

By Pamela Mortimer

An earthquake registered at 4.0 was the cause of a mine collapse in Huntington, Utah on Monday. Currently, six miners are unaccounted for and are believed to be trapped inside. A spokesman for the Emery County Sheriff’s office stated, "Rescue workers are on scene trying to locate six miners that are unaccounted for."

According to a statement from the Mine Safety and Health Administration, there has been no contact with the six miners, who are believed to be four miles from the entrance to the underground mine. All six miners were men who were scheduled for the midnight shift.

"Mine rescue teams are in the mine and are within about 2,500 feet of where MSHA believes the miners were working," said Dirk Fillpot, a spokesman for the MSHA.

Officials are attempting to establish which came first, the earthquake or the underground cave-in. Since the mine is located approximately five miles from the epicenter of the earthquake, determination will be difficult.

The Emery County sheriff's office stated that the Genwal mine reported cave-in at 3:50 a.m., an hour after the magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded. If there was a delay in reporting the collapse, it is possible they happened less than an hour apart.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located under the Huntington Canyon area, about 15 miles from the Genwal mine and 100 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. Sheriff Lamar Guymon told radio station KSL in Salt Lake City that a "short time later we received information about the cave-in at Genwal mine."

The rescue attempt began around 3 a.m., the Guymon said.

"There appears to be no explosion," said Davit Mcateer, a former spokesman with the MSHA. "You can get some shifting, or rock bursts, what are called outbursts. It’s quite a dangerous situation."

Rocky Mountain Power, owner of different coal mine nearby, sent a rescue team and heavy equipment, spokesman Dave Eskelsen stated.

Walter Arabasz, the head of the University of Utah's Seismograph Stations, confirmed that wave lengths created a clear link between the quake and the mine collapse.

"The ground is collapsing or relaxing toward the source," Arabasz said. "The evidence we have at hand suggests that the seismic event was caused by some disturbance in the mine."

The sheriff's office reported earlier that there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries blamed on the quake.

"We aren't panicked yet," Linda Jewkes, president of the Emery County Chamber of Commerce. "We're very, very concerned and very cautious when it comes to the mines."

"We all know of people that are there and related to those people," said Huntington Mayor Hilary Gordon. "Our chief prayer and hope is that these miners are rescued safely and that they are unharmed."