Tragedy and delays hit Australian mine rescue

CANBERRA, May 7 (Reuters) Two Australian miners trapped underground for 12 days will not be rescued at least until tomorrow because they are surrounded by rock five times as hard as concrete and extremely difficult to hack through, officials said.

Rescuers had hoped to use hand picks and small drills to dig a one-metre wide rescue tunnel to the two miners, but made little progress through the hard rock entrapping the men. They now plan to use low impact explosives to try to break through.

''Miners report we are working with some of the hardest rock they have ever worked with - five times harder than concrete.

It is not known how much longer this will take,'' mine manager Matthew Gill told reporters on Sunday.

''The reality is this is a long and tricky process which we want to make sure we do safely,'' he said, adding that it was possible the men could be free some time tomorrow.

Tragedy hit the rescue effort when a senior Australian television journalist covering the events died at the mine site on the southern island of Tasmania today.

Richard Carleton, 62, had asked a question of the mine manager only moments before he collapsed in front of the large media contingent. He was treated by ambulance officers at the spot but died a short time later.

Prime Minister John Howard expressed his sympathy, and said Carleton was one of Australia's great television personalities.

''I'm shocked and saddened by the sudden death of Richard Carleton. He was a great television personality. I knew him well. I extend my deepest sympathy to his family and colleagues at 60 Minutes,'' Howard said through a spokesman.

The two miners were trapped in a small wire cage after a cave-in on April 25 when the earthquake sent tonnes of rock crashing down. A third miner was killed in the cave-in at the Beaconsfield Gold Mine.

Brant Webb, 37, and Todd Russell, 34, were found alive last Sunday after being entombed for five days. A huge slab of rock landed on the cage they were working in, protecting them from falling rock.

REUTERS SY RK1242