Crandall Canyon

16 Stories

Deadly Mine Collapse Draws Record Fine

Weak pillars, dangerous areas linked to Utah deaths

(Newser) - The federal government has socked a Utah mine operator and its consultant with the highest fine ever—$1.85 million—for safety violations in a mine collapse that killed six men last year. Investigators said weak pillar support and work in dangerous areas of the Crandell Canyon mine led to...

Miners' Families Vent Anger to Lawmakers

One rep blasts Feds, calls Utah collapse 'preventable'

(Newser) - Families of 6 dead miners expressed anger and heartbreak to lawmakers today, blaming lax safety for the Utah mine collapse. Relatives said miners were afraid to speak up and continued working until the August 2 collapse. One lawmaker blasted a mining safety agency and called the incident a "preventable...

Utah Mine Search Suspended
Utah Mine Search Suspended
Sep 1, 2007 3:48 AM CDT

Utah Mine Search Suspended

'We've done all we can do,' expert says after camera fails

(Newser) - "We've exhausted the options that we know about." That's how mine experts put it to an attorney for the trapped Utah miners' families yesterday, CNN reports.  A camera lowered through a borehole into the collapsed mine at the Candall Canyon site yesterday failed to produce useful information...

Rain Foils Mine Camera Drop
Rain Foils Mine Camera Drop
Aug 28, 2007 12:11 PM CDT

Rain Foils Mine Camera Drop

But device should work in normal conditions

(Newser) - An 8-inch robotic camera’s descent down a 1,415-foot borehole in the collapsed Crandall Canyon Mine was cut short yesterday by several hours of steady rain, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The weather blocked positioning of equipment needed to drop the camera, as well as preparations for a seventh...

Mine Operation Continues With 7th Hole and Camera

Camera could reach shaft bottom by this afternoon

(Newser) - Reversing an earlier decision, recovery efforts will continue at the Utah mine where six miners were trapped three weeks ago. A seventh hole will be drilled into the mine, and a camera will be dropped into a previously bored hole to search for signs of life. Family members requested that...

6th Hole Shows No Signs of Life
6th Hole Shows No Signs of Life
Aug 25, 2007 9:45 PM CDT

6th Hole Shows No Signs of Life

(Newser) - The last hole drilled into the collapsed Utah mine where six men are trapped yielded no hopeful sign today; the space it reached was too small to support the men, a lawyer for some of the families told the press. "The only thing they told us is there is...

Rescue Workers Will Bore One Last Hole

Company decides to close mine permanently

(Newser) - Workers will bore a final hole in a bid to locate six miners lost in a Utah mine, but if that fails, the operation will be halted and the mine closed as a kind of memorial tomb, the owner said yesterday. "We're not going to risk more live people...

Owners Mull Reopening Mine
Owners Mull Reopening Mine
Aug 22, 2007 12:49 PM CDT

Owners Mull Reopening Mine

With fate of missing miners still uncertain, economic issues surface

(Newser) - Days after three more deaths ended efforts to rescue trapped miners, Crandall Canyon’s operators are talking about reopening the Utah mine—to mixed reaction from families and townspeople, according to the Times. Some wonder how the area is safe for mining but not for continuing recovery operations; others point...

Mine Owner: They're Probably Dead
Mine Owner: They're Probably Dead
Aug 21, 2007 7:05 AM CDT

Mine Owner: They're Probably Dead

Miners' bodies may never be recovered

(Newser) - The trapped Utah miners are most likely dead, and their bodies may never be recovered, mine owner Robert Murray acknowledged to bereaved family members last night. Following the death of three rescuers—and a report from mining experts concluding that further attempts would be an unacceptable risk—underground rescue efforts...

Mine Rescue Effort Called Off
Mine Rescue Effort Called Off
Aug 17, 2007 8:00 AM CDT

Mine Rescue Effort Called Off

(Newser) - The search for the six men trapped in a collapsed Utah mine for the last 12 days has been halted indefinitely after a seismic "bump" at 6:39 PM yesterday caused a second cave-in, killing three rescuers, injuring six, and highlighting that the Crandall Canyon mine remains fraught with...

3 Rescue Workers Killed in Mine
3 Rescue Workers Killed in Mine
Aug 17, 2007 12:53 AM CDT

3 Rescue Workers Killed in Mine

Community reels as seismic jolt triggers new accident

(Newser) - Three men have died and six were injured in another collapse at a Utah mine where the team was working to save six trapped miners, reports the New York Times. "It's a devastating blow to what was already a tragic situation," said the local mayor. The accident yesterday...

9 Injured in 2nd Mine Collapse
9 Injured in 2nd Mine Collapse
Aug 16, 2007 9:37 PM CDT

9 Injured in 2nd Mine Collapse

(Newser) - At least nine rescuers at the Utah mine where six miners were trapped last week are injured after seismic activity may have caused another cave-in, CNN reports. Six or more ambulances and two helicopters rushed to the Crandall Canyon mine tonight to transport the wounded rescuers to the hospital.

Rescuers Hear 'Noise' in Mine
Rescuers Hear 'Noise' in Mine
Aug 15, 2007 10:46 PM CDT

Rescuers Hear 'Noise' in Mine

Crews start drilling toward unknown sound

(Newser) - Rescuers digging for men who have been trapped underground for 10 days heard noise inside the mine today, prompting crews to drill a fourth hole in the sound's direction. They described hearing 5 minutes of “noise” through seismic geophones, ignighting some hope in an otherwise-discouraging rescue effort. "There's...

Mine Collapse Survivor Didn't Hear the Cave-In

Found out via text message

(Newser) - One of the four miners who escaped the Crandall Canyon collapse that trapped six men told the AP he didn't hear or feel the cave-in as it was occurring. Tim Curtis, who was near the mine's entrance at the time, heard of the collapse via text message on an personal...

Officials to Drill Third Hole at Utah Mine

Poorly lit video spies equipment but no sign of missing miners

(Newser) - Mine officials will drill a third hole to locate six Utah miners trapped for close to a week, the AP reports. A video camera with poor lighting was lowered into a hole yesterday and found mining equipment, but no sign of the miners. Still, rescuers said they were treating the...

Which Came First: Quake or Collapse?

It's geologists vs. mine owner on cause of Utah disaster

(Newser) - A cave-in method of coal extraction called “retreat mining,” recently okayed by regulators for Crandall Canyon, was more likely to have caused the Utah mine disaster than an earthquake, seismographers tell the Los Angeles Times. And they say the massive tremor was consistent with the type  “induced...

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