High Gas Levels Thwart NZ Miner Rescue

Twenty-nine New Zealand miners remained stuck more than a mile underground today as high methane and carbon monoxide levels prevented rescuers from retrieving them. "Unfortunately it's just not as simple as putting on a mask and gown and rushing in there," says one official. "It does pose a danger to those guys underground and ... a danger to the staff going in."

The official said rescuers were confident the 29 had survived Friday's blast: "This is a search and rescue operation, and we are going to bring these guys home," he said. And the AP notes that air is flowing through a compressed air line, though a phone at the bottom of the mine had rung unanswered. "It is quite conceivable there is a large number of men sitting around the end of that open pipe waiting and wondering why we are taking our time getting to them," said the official.
(More New Zealand stories.)