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Rescuers searching for six coal miners who have been trapped after a cave-in ten days ago received some hopeful news Thursday.
Noise was detected Wednesday by devices monitoring vibrations in the mountain and new images taken inside the mountain showed an undamaged section complete with a ventilation curtain that divides intake air from exhaust air.
"If the men went in there, they could be alive," mine co-owner Bob Murray told The Associated Press late Wednesday. "There was no damage at all. The roof is intact; no ribs have outburst. The floors are in place.
“It looked just as it did when we mined it," he said.
It has been more than a week since the Crandall Canyon Mine in central Utah caved in for reasons that have yet to be determined, and there has been no sign of the missing six miners. Officials have said the men could already be dead, crushed more than 1,800 feet (550 meters) below the surface when the mine caved in.
Many, however, are holding on to the hope that they are still alive, especially after the latest news.
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"We saw some indication of noise for a period of about five minutes that we had not seen before," said Mine Health and Safety Administration chief Richard Stickler, according to AP.
"There are a lot of possibilities," Stickler added. "We started with logical thinking: 'If I were in this situation, what would I do?' That has guided us in where we look."
The men, if they survived the Aug. 6 collapse, could be huddled together or spread out anywhere in an underground area the size of several football fields.
"There's always a chance. You have to hang on to that chance. But realistically it is small, quite small," said J. Davitt McAteer, former head of the Mine Health and Safety Administration, according to AP. "You would have to have every single break and divine intervention to successfully extract these guys."
Mining rescues after 10 or more days are not unheard of. In May 2006, two miners were rescued after being trapped for 14 days following a collapse at an Australian mine. In 1968, six miners were rescued after 10 days in West Virginia.
Murray said earlier this week that the missing men's families were receiving twice-daily briefings and remained hopeful.
"They're holding up extremely well," the mine co-owner said. "Their strength is amazing, and I think it comes from their belief in their God."
Preparations for a fourth hole in the mountain continued Thursday morning, but there was no indication drilling had started. Officials, meanwhile, were studying the results of air quality samples taken from a third borehole, and were expected to release their findings some time Thursday.
