A rescue worker injured in last Thursday’s mine collapse outside Huntington is currently being treated at the U hospital.
On Friday, a spokesperson for the hospital reported the miner to be in fair condition. The hospital has not released any other information.
When asked about the miners who were transported to Salt Lake City, Jeff Manley, CEO of Castleview Hospital in Price, told The Associated Press that Castleview Hospital doesn’t treat “major head trauma.”
The collapse Thursday evening killed three rescue workers and injured at least six others who were trying to tunnel through rubble to reach six miners who had been trapped inside the mountain Aug. 6.
The cave-in at 6:39 p.m. was believed to be caused by a “mountain bump,” in which shifting ground forces chunks of rock from the walls. The force from the bump registered a magnitude of 1.6 at the seismograph stations.
Richard Stickler, head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, said the blast resulting from the mountain bump created a destruction zone about 30 feet long along a wall of the chamber and knocked out steel posts, chain-link fencing and the cables that tied everything together.
“When that energy gets released, it’s like an explosion,” Stickler said.
Survivors’ injuries ranged from cuts and scrapes to head and chest trauma.
One rescuer died after being taken to Castleview Hospital in Price, and another died at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, according to hospital spokespeople. The third death was confirmed by Rich Kulczewski, a U.S. Department of Labor spokesman.
On Sunday, after a fourth borehole more than 1,500 feet into the mountainside found that the air quality could not sustain life, mine executives said they are doubtful that the miners were still alive.
“It’s likely these miners may not be found,” said Rob Moore, vice president of Murray Energy Corp.
The Asociated Press contributed to this article