Tweet
16 September 2011
Last updated at 03:56 ET
One of the four miners trapped 90m (295ft) below ground in the Swansea Valley has been found dead, police say.
Rescuers had been trying to reach the men in the flooded Gleision Colliery near Cilybebyll, Pontardawe for nearly 24 hours.
The trapped miners are Charles Breslin, 62; David Powell, 50; and Garry Jenkins, 39, from the Swansea Valley; and Phillip Hill, 45, of Neath.
Police said the identity of the dead miner is not yet known.
He was found by rescue crews in a very deep part of the flooded mine earlier on Friday, but they have so far been unable to recover his body.
Families and friends who are at the nearby Rhos community centre have been informed of the news.
The rescue operation to find the other three miners is continuing.
Chris Margetts, from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said the dead miner was found on the "exit side of the body of water" and that it was "quite possible the team has been split".
Emergency services said they had not given up hope of finding the other three men alive and hope they are in air pocket on the other side of the body of water.
Supt Phil Davies said: "A miner has been found. We are not in a current position to recover him from the mine and therefore we don't know the identity of that person.
"This is a dynamic, ongoing search and rescue operation and all emergency services are working hard to get all the miners out of there as soon as possible."
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | Amazon Plugin | Settlement Statement | WordPress Tutorials
Rescuers had been trying to reach the men in the flooded Gleision Colliery near Cilybebyll, Pontardawe for nearly 24 hours.
The trapped miners are Charles Breslin, 62; David Powell, 50; and Garry Jenkins, 39, from the Swansea Valley; and Phillip Hill, 45, of Neath.
Police said the identity of the dead miner is not yet known.
He was found by rescue crews in a very deep part of the flooded mine earlier on Friday, but they have so far been unable to recover his body.
Families and friends who are at the nearby Rhos community centre have been informed of the news.
The rescue operation to find the other three miners is continuing.
Chris Margetts, from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said the dead miner was found on the "exit side of the body of water" and that it was "quite possible the team has been split".
Emergency services said they had not given up hope of finding the other three men alive and hope they are in air pocket on the other side of the body of water.
Supt Phil Davies said: "A miner has been found. We are not in a current position to recover him from the mine and therefore we don't know the identity of that person.
"This is a dynamic, ongoing search and rescue operation and all emergency services are working hard to get all the miners out of there as soon as possible."
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | Amazon Plugin | Settlement Statement | WordPress Tutorials