LAWFUEL – The Law Newswire – The families of six trapped miners are “waiting for a miracle,” their spokesman said, as rescuers made one last attempt to find the missing men and lawmakers in Washington announced twin probes into safety at the mine.
Sonny Olsen, an attorney acting as spokesman for the families, said late Thursday that the families had lost some of their hope that the miners would be found alive. “But they’re waiting for a miracle,” he said. “These families believe in miracles.”
In a sign of how desperate the families have become, organizers planned a benefit Friday night to raise money to drill a hole big enough for a rescue capsule. “Leave no man behind,” said a flier publicizing the event. Such capsules have been used to save miners in other disasters, but the men in the Crandall Canyon mine are thought to be more than 1,000 feet deeper than in previous rescues.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, demanded a litany of documents from the Labor Department about the mine and its operators.
