Renewed Hope for Utah Miners as Rescuers Pick Up Noises

|PIC1|Hope has been renewed in the fight to save six men from a Utah mine collapse in the US, after sound monitoring devices picked up noises.

The news brings the first signs of hope that the men may still be alive as no contact has been made with them since a tunnel collapsed in the mine on 6 August.

Federal mine safety chief Richard Stickler said, "We saw some indication of noise for a period of about five minutes that we had not seen before."

However, it was also warned that the sounds could just as easily be from a rock breaking underground or even an animal.

Rescue teams have been frantically trying to find signs that the miners are still alive, and three boreholes drilled into the mountain have allowed a video to be lowered, revealing an undamaged area.

Mine owner Bob Murray said the camera lowered into the borehole revealed areas of the mine completely undamaged by the collapse that trapped the miners.

The footage also showed evidence of a ventilation curtain, which Murray said could have provided entry into an air pocket if the miners had made their way past it. He said: "There was no damage at all. The roof is intact; no ribs have outburst. The floors are in place - it looked as it did when we mined it. If the men went in there they could be alive."

In addition, each of six geophones placed around the mountain picked up sounds on Wednesday, and the vibrations were recorded in a steady pattern for up to five minutes.

However, experts have said that the chances of finding the miners alive are now slim, and as each hour passes that chance only gets smaller.

Murray previously praised the missing men's families, and he said they remained hopeful.

"They're holding up extremely well," Murray said. "Their strength is amazing, and I think it comes from their belief in their God."

The Salvation Army, meanwhile, has sent an Emergency Disaster Services (ESD) team from Salt Lake City to Huntington, where the mine is located, to assist the miners' families and emergency crews with food and drink refreshments as well as offering emotional and spiritual support.

The Salvation Army's ESD canteen vehicle has provided breakfast, lunch and dinner to around 100 people involved in the rescue effort each day since August 9, after called upon by scene officials who realised it was going to be a lengthier operation than originally hoped.