LOS ANGELES - Rescuers working to reach six miners buried underground in Utah could finally make contact with the trapped men later Thursday after digging to within 300 feet (90 meters) of them, officials said.
The six miners have not been heard from since a tunnel they were working in at the Genwal Mine in Crandall Canyon, 200 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of Salt Lake City, collapsed at around 3:50 am (0850 GMT) Monday.
A large-scale operation has seen rescuers drilling through the mountainside in a bid to set up communication shafts that could improve ventilation and allow for food and supplies to be lowered to the men.
Robert Murray, a director of Utah American Energy that owns and operates the mine, said a 2.5 inch (6.5-centimeter) shaft to the cavity where the men were presumed to be could be completed by Thursday afternoon local time.
A second 8.5-inch (21.5 centimeter) diameter shaft which could be used to deliver food and water is expected to be complete by early Friday, Murray told reporters.
"If they are alive we can provide communications," Murray said. "We can provide sustenance. We can provide their every need."
However, Murray warned it would still take several days before a separate rescue team was able to clear enough rubble and physically extract the men.
On Wednesday Murray cautioned it was possible the two drills boring in on the miners might strike a coal seam rather than the cavern where the men were. If that happened, the drilling would have to start again, he said.
Mine safety manager Bodee Allred said Wednesday he had not given up hope of finding his co-workers alive.
"I have full faith they are in there alive and breathing," Allred said.
The six men were believed to be located in a chamber around 450 meters (1,500 feet) underground.
While Murray has remained adamant that Monday's cave-in was caused by an earthquake, the US Geological Survey said in a statement that the collapse was responsible for seismic readings that initially suggested a 4.0 quake.
"The event picked up does not appear to be an earthquake," the USGS statement said. "Primary analysis of the waves and location suggest that it was a mine collapse and not an earthquake."
The Utah drama has revived memories of the doomed effort to reach 13 miners who were trapped after an explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia in January last year.
Twelve miners died and only one survived after being buried underground for 41 hours.

08/09/2007 15:45 GMT