Rescue workers at Que Creek mine in Pennsylvania have started to drill a second escape shaft for nine men trapped 240 feet (75 metres) below ground in a flooded mine.

Earlier in the day, their first attempt at drilling an escape route for the miners was halted after the drill broke as it cut through solid rock.

Click here to see where the miners are trapped

The crew are digging the second escape shaft just 75 feet (23 metres) away from the first, in a race against time to save the miners, who have already been trapped for over a day and a half.

It's 50-50, the likelihood of success

Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker

The accident happened when the wall of a nearby disused mine collapsed, sending water flooding into the shaft in which the men were digging for coal.

The BBC's Ian Pannell says this latest attempt at creating an escape route could take another 18 hours.

With the passing of time and the harsh conditions underground, the chances of success are slim, our correspondent says.

"Given the crisis we have, running two holes is an insurance policy we need to have right now," said Joseph Main, health and safety administrator for the United Mine Workers of America.

Hypothermia risk

Encouraged by tapping sounds and underground movement heard on Thursday, crews hoped to drill through to the underground mine cavity by Friday morning.

Their aim was to clear the way for a rescue operation using special baskets sent into the newly drilled shaft.

The delay is excruciating for rescue workers

But the delay raises fears that any surviving miners could succumb to hypothermia in water and air temperatures as cold as 11C.

"We've had a setback," Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker admitted. "It's 50-50, the likelihood of success."

But rescue officials are far from giving up hope.

Betsy Mallison, a spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Protection, said: "We are still working very diligently to get them out."

There was at least one piece of news to give hope to the people anxiously waiting at the site.

It appears that the water level inside is dropping as crews continue to pump water out.

When the accident occurred an estimated 50 million gallons (189 million litres) of water was released into the shaft where the miners were working.

Wrong maps

The nine men, aged 30 to 55, were trapped after apparently breaching the wall of a flooded and abandoned mine next to them.

A second crew of nine men managed to escape from the mine as the water gushed in.

The men believed the old mine was still some 300 feet (90 metres) away, but their maps were incorrect, officials said.

They are currently in low underground chambers about 1.3 miles (2 km) from the entrance.

Rescue services have already created an underground air pocket to give the men oxygen by drilling into the cavity and inserting a pipe, through which compressed air is being fed.

---

Click here to return