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Rescuers now 3 feet from trapped Australian miners

by Angeline Booher May 8, 2006 12:59AM PDT

BEACONSFIELD, Australia (CNN) -- A rescue team in Tasmania trying to reach two miners trapped half a mile underground for 14 days says a probe has broken through to the cavity where the men are inside a protective cage.

While officials at Beaconsfield Gold Mine in the Australian island state said the small probe had broken through -- which will determine the direction of larger drilling efforts -- they did not say when they hoped to break through layers of sandstone, loose material and solid rock to reach the pair.

The two men, both married fathers-of-three, have oxygen and have been receiving food, water and items like magazines through a plastic pipe since they were found alive on April 30.

Rescuers are just a meter (three feet) from the men and must drill upwards through the rock to reach them. The miners have been asked to help in the rescue effort by preparing the cavity in which they are stuck.

Concerns that large vibrations could dislodge more rock and cause another cave-in forced rescue specialists to use hand tools, including jackhammers and a chainsaw, to work towards the men.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/05/08/australia.miners/index.html

Hopefully these men will soon be home with their families.

Angeline
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