Joining the families in the hopes the miners have found a safe place to wait.
"...heavy smoke that cut visibility to 2 to 3 feet...four tunnels, each about four miles long. The mine extends as much as 900 feet below ground... very hot - up to 400 degrees - and smoky inside the shafts...a carbon monoxide monitor about 10,000 feet from the entrance set off an alarm...Rescuers had hoped to use special phones that emit sensors to try to locate the missing men, but the terrain was too rough...Air samples from a hole near the fire showed elevated levels of carbon monoxide, although not as severe as the levels at the Sago Mine...ventilation system continued to work...no methane was detected...the line where the fire broke out had problems before, but nothing as serious as this...belt fires can occur when belt rollers get stuck or out of alignment and rub against the structure supporting them. Another possible cause is the accumulation of coal or coal dust...has not had a fatal accident since at least 1995..."