Hope fades for trapped Utah miners

HUNTINGTON, Utah, Aug 12 (Reuters) There was no official word on Sunday on efforts to rescue six coal miners, nearly a week after the Utah mine shaft they were working in collapsed.

Hopes that the miners were alive appeared to fade yesterday when there was no response to rescuers' attempts to contact the men through a drill hole, which had found ''survivable space'' and safe drinking water.

Water pouring through the hole foiled an initial attempt to use a camera to examine the space about 1,800 feet (550 metres) below the surface. Rescuers planned to insert a lining in the hole, which will take many hours but protect the camera and let it send back images.

The miners have not been heard from since Monday, when part of the Crandall Canyon Mine near Huntington, Utah, collapsed.

Rescuers hope the reinserted camera will be able to scan 100 feet in each direction and provide details of the conditions underground.

After breaking through the ceiling of the mine early yesterday morning, rescuers banged on the metal drill to draw the attention of any survivors, shutting down all the equipment and lights on the surface to listen for sounds from below.

A first, 2-1/2-inch drill pierced into another area of the mine late on Thursday. There was no sign of life when a two-way microphone was lowered into the mine, and tests in that hole showed oxygen levels in the chamber were too low to sustain life.

Reuters PD DB2032