Six coal miners trapped in Utah mine collapse

HUNTINGTON, Utah, Aug 7 (Reuters) Rescuers worked into the night to free six miners trapped in the collapse of a coal mine in central Utah, where there had been no sign of life for 18 hours after the cave-in.

Four rescue teams, using helicopters and heavy equipment, drilled yesterday steadily to reach the men, who were stuck some 1,500 feet (457 metres) below the surface in the Crandall Canyon mine.

But as night fell in Utah, the rescue crews found themselves turned back by falling rock and were forced to regroup.

''Every initial effort at rescue has failed,'' said Robert Murray, president of Murray Energy, which owns the mine operator.

There has been no contact with the men since the mine collapsed around 2:50 am (1418 IST) yesterday.

Judy Bishop, whose cousin was among the trapped miners, said families were ''hopeful but somber'' as they waited.

''I always have hope,'' Bishop said. ''When you give up hope you give up life. I wont give up hope.'' Bishop said the incident brought back memories of the 1984 Wilberg Mine disaster, which killed 27 miners in the worst coal-mine fire in Utah history.

Rescue crews had come within 1,700 feet (520 meters) of the trapped miners and work was being done to drill from the top and horizontally.

'TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE' ''You have six miners who all could very well be alive,'' Utah Gov Jon Huntsman told Reuters.

''They could be in a chamber that is 1,000 feet (304 metres) long or they could be dead,'' Murray said. ''Time is of the essence.'''' It was not known what caused the collapse.

The US Geological Survey reported a magnitude-4 earthquake near the mine at the time of the cave-in. It was analyzing data to determine whether the shaking was produced by the collapse itself.

''If you have a mine collapse, there will be a seismic component,'' said Harley Benz of the USGS' National Earthquake Information Center. ''We simply don't know at this point.'' The area in central Utah, about 140 miles 225 km south of Salt Lake City, is known for its mining industry and has seen its share of tragedy.

''All we can do is wait and pray and let the rescuers do their job and until we hear, we will continue praying with the families of the missing miners,'' said Brad King, a Utah state representative from nearby Carbon County.

Concerns about mine safety in the United States resurfaced last year when 12 miners were killed in an explosion at International Coal Group's Sago mine in West Virginia.

In response, Congress passed the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act, which President George W Bush signed into law last year.

Reuters RN DB1130