No sign of six missing US miners; search goes on

WASHINGTON, Aug 27 (Reuters) Mine officials will drill a seventh bore hole into a Utah mine in a continuing effort to find six missing coal miners after the latest effort turned up no sign of the men, officials said.

The trapped miners have not been heard from since the Crandall Canyon Mine in Huntington, Utah, collapsed on August 6, stranding them some 1,800 feet below the surface.

Rescue crews on Saturday drilled from the surface to punch into underground mine chambers for the sixth time since the search began but no signs of life were detected, the fedeal Mine Safety Health Administration said yesterday.

''Unfortunately, bore hole number six did not provide us with conclusive evidence of the fate of the six trapped miners.

However, we have identified another location to drill that may provide us additional details as to what may have happened to the miners,'' MSHA chief Richard Stickler said in a statement.

Searchers plan to lower a robotic camera into the mine to aid in the search, officials said.

Rescuers suspended efforts on August 17 to bore a tunnel to search for the six trapped miners after a cave-in killed three rescue workers involved in the search.

REUTERS AK BST0600