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Mine Disaster: Fighting for our 6 |
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This is about the mine disaster. I can't believe this is happening. Really, it's strange that the news are in this little town with nothing more than a small store, one small hotel for the first time in my life has NO VACANCY lit up, I wish they were here for something better though. Manuel Sanchez, he is one of six miners that were trapped on August 6th, he is also a dear friends brother. Brandon, when the collapse occured he was new on the job, hadn't even recieved a pay check, I wonder what he thinks of his career choice now. Really though, here in Emery County, mining is the only way you can support your family, there isn't much choice. Murray just purchased the mines in this area a little over a year ago, none of the workers liked him much, nostly because he was cutting corners in saftey- with 100+ safteey violations. The mines were more and more dangerous all the time. Coal in the mountain is an entire layer about 6-8 feet high, you have to leave some coal to support the mountain. In the beggining of the Genwall mine (Crandal Canyon Mine) they left "ribs" (coal supporting the roof) 200 feet thick. The mine was gradually running out of coal, so Murray got it approved by MSHA (Mine Saftey and Health Administration) to mine some of the ribs out, leaving only 40 feet to support the mountain. In Genwall Mine they have What they call bumps, or bounces, which feels much like an earthquake. They are caused in part when weight falls to the floor of the mine. Genwall has such large bumps that the mine finally buckled under pressure, leaving six men trapped. In the rescue efforts 3 men died and 6 were injured while digging in the face. The bounce occured at 6:39 PM as the crews were about to shift. My uncle was just arriving in the face to take the position of one of the 3 when he heard cries for help. The ribs had broken again and my uncle dug the men out of the rubble. After that the digging underground halted. Now they drill one last bore hole to find the miners, they say that if there are no signs of life they will stop searching altogether. Families of those trapped are shouting out! They want to send a man down in a capsule in order to ensure that their loved are alive, or dead. If you were one of these families, would you not want to know, one way or the other? What horror would it be if you were the one trapped and you were alive, to be left to die in such a cold dark place. You would expect there to be a rescue team, what though, if there wasn't. Speak out for our 6! Don't leave them behind...
riku_gato · Wed Aug 22, 2007 @ 07:20am · 4 Comments |
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