Utah Miners (update)

The news coming out of this disaster hasn't given any additional info about the fate of the 6 trapped miners, but has given a lot of speculation and finger pointing. What caused the cave-in is still in dispute, depending on your side. The company (and I mean from the CEO down to the miners) say it was caused by the earthquake. Those who oppose mining say that the cave-in was the seismic event. One thing for sure the individuals trapped don't care what caused right now. They may be trapped in total darkness right now. If they made it to the safe shelter, something all mines are required to develop and maintain, the could survive for quite sometime.

The miners have not been heard from since the mine, located in the Manti-La Sal National Forest in remote central Utah, caved in early on Monday. Officials say they could potentially survive for weeks in an underground chamber if they were not killed by the initial collapse.

Having actually been in one of these chambers, I have a good idea of what these individuals (I say individuals because women do have a very small but growing presence in mining) are faced with. If they are in an pre-made chamber, they have water, some food, possibly air if the lines didn't break and additional safety equipment. The requirements for these chambers are strictly enforced and if found deficient by MSHA, a Cease and Desist order would be issued during one of the quarterly inspection all underground mines receive.

The chamber I was in was design to hold up to 100 people for a week. Even with out an air supply, 6 people could remain alive for quite sometime. If they made in to a similar chamber then there is a real possibility they still live.