Crandall Canyon Mine Disaster
(Update No 2: 3 September 2007)
Have you been following the unfolding story of the rescue attempts at the Crandall Canyon mine? I want to share some links to video clips, pictures and other illustrations to help you understand the situation at Crandall Canyon. I will continue to update this as the story unfolds.
Current News:
Officials at the Crandall Canyon mine have announced that the search for the missing miners is now finished after drilling a seventh hole and still finding no sign of life underground. This hole was drilled into the miners’ “kitchen”, but officials had expressed disappointment that the hole only revealed 7 feet of rubble. They had drilled this hole because miners are trained to seek refuge here during a collapse.
They had also sent a robotic camera down one of the holes, but only found mud. In fact, they had to abandon the robot down the mine because it got stuck in the mud.
Here is a video taken down one of the boreholes that was drilled into the mine following the initial roof collapse:
(video courtesy of KUTV-2)
I have worked in Australian coal mines for almost 20 years, and have also gone underground at a few mines in the USA. I was surprised at the differencese in safety standards between the 2 countries. One example is the use of diesel equipment underground. In some US states, they cannot use diesel equipment underground, whereas in Australia, they have been using diesels for many years. On the other hand, I was amazed at the use of trolley-wire trains (complete with all the sparks, etc) underground in the USA. So, what about Emergency Response Plans (ERP)? In particular, here is a link to the Crandall Canyon ERP submitted to the Coal Mine Safety and Health District (CMSH) District 9:
This plan also contains a mine layout plan at the end of the document. As you can see, the plan was approved by CMSH on 13 June 2007. The ERP’s are a requirement of the new Miner Act 2006. As you can see from the Plan, it is pretty comprehensive in terms of providing for sufficient Self Contained Self Rescuers (SCSR), directional life-lines, post-accident breathable air (PABA), trapped-miner maintenance materials, etc.
So what does the Crandall Canyon mine look like, and what are the conditions experienced at the mine? Well, for a start, this is a deep mine - in some places over 2,000 feet (600 metres) deep.
What does it look like on the surface? Here is a short video showing the terrain overlaying the mine: