Tweet
16 September 2011
Last updated at 10:06 ET
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
Rescuer Chris Margetts said the second body was found where the man had been working
A third miner has been confirmed as dead, as the search continues for one more man still trapped in a Swansea Valley colliery.
The men became trapped 90m (295ft) below in the flooded Gleision Colliery near Pontardawe on Thursday morning.
They are: Charles Breslin, 62; David Powell, 50; Garry Jenkins, 39; and Phillip Hill, 45.
None of the bodies have been recovered from the mine. Only the first body found has been formally identified.
After confirming that the second body had been found, Supt Phil Davies said the families were in a state of "extreme grief".
"All our sympathy goes out to the families in what is an incredibly difficult situation," he said.
"I will reiterate the fact that this is still an ongoing search and rescue operation and all emergency services are fully committed to getting these miners out as soon as possible."
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
He added: "There is a lot of emotion here, this is a passionate rescue attempt, we care about these people."
The body of one miner was located at the bottom of the main shaft at Cilybebyll earlier on Friday, in the early hours, and has now been recovered.
The second body was found in a different part of the mine at 12:15 BST, believed to be close to where he was working, and has not yet been formally identified.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
'The rescuers are driving forward in an almost superhumanly dedicated way'
Police confirmed at about 15:00 BST that a third body had been found.
Two other miners escaped unaided before emergency services arrived and a third was airlifted to Morriston Hospital, Swansea, but is not believed to be as seriously ill as previously thought.
Chris Margetts, from Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said: "The search and rescue operation is still ongoing.
"Access has been gained into the main shaft at the bottom, we have cleared the blockage and got mines rescue crews who are able to enter and start searching the myriad of tunnels and offshoots of the main mine.
"They have to dig through silt because there is lots of debris to wade through.
Confined space "We are doing everything we can in terms of continuing to search the other areas."
Rescuers have found no methane and oxygen levels have been reported to be good.
When the second body was found, Neath MP Peter Hain said it was "a terrible situation getting worse".
"It's just got worse and been a terrible blow to the families who are being cared for in the community centre," he said.
"They've had the trauma of living with the last few hours after the first dead miner was found and now we are in exactly the same situation with a second miner.
"The rescue workers are working like mad, the only glimmer of encouragement at the moment is there's no methane down below and there is oxygen so, if the other miners managed to scramble to a point where they could escape the flood, there is oxygen circulating."
First Minister Carwyn Jones described the conditions at the mine after a visit.
"It's a horizontal entrance rather than a deep vertical shaft but it's very narrow," he said.
"It's about seven or eight feet high, if that, maybe four feet, five feet wide - of which half of that is taken up with a conveyor belt.
"It's a very confined space and I understand it gets even more confined the further in you go. It's dark, it's dusty, there's water there. You can't see through the water so visibility is very, very difficult."
BBC reporter Gilbert John said he was told the miner currently being treated in hospital had walked from the pit to tell rescuers of dragging and swimming through the water to the mine entrance.
The miner had swallowed pit slurry and it is understood he collapsed before being taken to hospital.
Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan told BBC Wales news website reporter David Dulin at the scene that she will be calling a civil contingency meeting in the cabinet office.
She said the prime minister David Cameron had been in contact while on his way back from Libya.
Flood water Two miners managed to escape as the flood water engulfed the drift mine when a retaining wall holding back a body of water underground failed on Thursday.
They are assisting rescuers.
A third is in Morriston Hospital, Swansea but not believed to be as seriously ill as previously thought.
Families and friends who are at the nearby Rhos community centre are being kept informed of developments.
The alarm was raised at 09:21 BST on Thursday and members of the Mines Rescue Service, together with specialist divers, helpers from all over the country and the fire service, have been working through the night.
They were forced back during the night after debris made the water too murky.
Fresh rescue teams were brought in on Friday to relieve crews.
An expert listening device, which can detect movement deep underground, is the among the specialist kit being used.
'Working very hard' Mr Margetts said it was a very "delicate" operation as care had to be taken not to damage the mine's structure. But he said the water levels are receding. Pumps are continuing to remove water from the mine and oxygen is being pumped in.
He said the rescue crews have now gained enough access to get teams down in wetsuits to start the excavation process.
They are continuing to pump out water, excavating the blockages and shoring up the tunnels.
"It is slow and it is steady, but as we're aware with previous incidents, these incidents take time," he said. "We need to do it properly.
"Everyone is working very hard, we just need a little bit of luck."
Gleision Colliery, in operation since 1993, works coal under a very steep hillside above the banks of the river Tawe.
It is a small drift mine working a coal seam from the Rhondda in a remote location cut into a hillside in the Swansea Valley.
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | Amazon Plugin | Settlement Statement | WordPress Tutorials
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.Rescuer Chris Margetts said the second body was found where the man had been working
A third miner has been confirmed as dead, as the search continues for one more man still trapped in a Swansea Valley colliery.
The men became trapped 90m (295ft) below in the flooded Gleision Colliery near Pontardawe on Thursday morning.
They are: Charles Breslin, 62; David Powell, 50; Garry Jenkins, 39; and Phillip Hill, 45.
None of the bodies have been recovered from the mine. Only the first body found has been formally identified.
After confirming that the second body had been found, Supt Phil Davies said the families were in a state of "extreme grief".
"All our sympathy goes out to the families in what is an incredibly difficult situation," he said.
"I will reiterate the fact that this is still an ongoing search and rescue operation and all emergency services are fully committed to getting these miners out as soon as possible."
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
We have cleared the blockage and got mines rescue crews who are able to enter and start searching the myriad of tunnels”
End Quote
Chris Margetts
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service
He added: "There is a lot of emotion here, this is a passionate rescue attempt, we care about these people."
The body of one miner was located at the bottom of the main shaft at Cilybebyll earlier on Friday, in the early hours, and has now been recovered.
The second body was found in a different part of the mine at 12:15 BST, believed to be close to where he was working, and has not yet been formally identified.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.'The rescuers are driving forward in an almost superhumanly dedicated way'
Police confirmed at about 15:00 BST that a third body had been found.
Two other miners escaped unaided before emergency services arrived and a third was airlifted to Morriston Hospital, Swansea, but is not believed to be as seriously ill as previously thought.
Chris Margetts, from Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said: "The search and rescue operation is still ongoing.
"Access has been gained into the main shaft at the bottom, we have cleared the blockage and got mines rescue crews who are able to enter and start searching the myriad of tunnels and offshoots of the main mine.
"They have to dig through silt because there is lots of debris to wade through.
Confined space "We are doing everything we can in terms of continuing to search the other areas."
Rescuers have found no methane and oxygen levels have been reported to be good.
When the second body was found, Neath MP Peter Hain said it was "a terrible situation getting worse".
"It's just got worse and been a terrible blow to the families who are being cared for in the community centre," he said.
"They've had the trauma of living with the last few hours after the first dead miner was found and now we are in exactly the same situation with a second miner.
"The rescue workers are working like mad, the only glimmer of encouragement at the moment is there's no methane down below and there is oxygen so, if the other miners managed to scramble to a point where they could escape the flood, there is oxygen circulating."
First Minister Carwyn Jones described the conditions at the mine after a visit.
"It's a horizontal entrance rather than a deep vertical shaft but it's very narrow," he said.
"It's about seven or eight feet high, if that, maybe four feet, five feet wide - of which half of that is taken up with a conveyor belt.
"It's a very confined space and I understand it gets even more confined the further in you go. It's dark, it's dusty, there's water there. You can't see through the water so visibility is very, very difficult."
BBC reporter Gilbert John said he was told the miner currently being treated in hospital had walked from the pit to tell rescuers of dragging and swimming through the water to the mine entrance.
The miner had swallowed pit slurry and it is understood he collapsed before being taken to hospital.
Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan told BBC Wales news website reporter David Dulin at the scene that she will be calling a civil contingency meeting in the cabinet office.
She said the prime minister David Cameron had been in contact while on his way back from Libya.
Flood water Two miners managed to escape as the flood water engulfed the drift mine when a retaining wall holding back a body of water underground failed on Thursday.
They are assisting rescuers.
A third is in Morriston Hospital, Swansea but not believed to be as seriously ill as previously thought.
Families and friends who are at the nearby Rhos community centre are being kept informed of developments.
The alarm was raised at 09:21 BST on Thursday and members of the Mines Rescue Service, together with specialist divers, helpers from all over the country and the fire service, have been working through the night.
They were forced back during the night after debris made the water too murky.
Fresh rescue teams were brought in on Friday to relieve crews.
An expert listening device, which can detect movement deep underground, is the among the specialist kit being used.
'Working very hard' Mr Margetts said it was a very "delicate" operation as care had to be taken not to damage the mine's structure. But he said the water levels are receding. Pumps are continuing to remove water from the mine and oxygen is being pumped in.
He said the rescue crews have now gained enough access to get teams down in wetsuits to start the excavation process.
They are continuing to pump out water, excavating the blockages and shoring up the tunnels.
"It is slow and it is steady, but as we're aware with previous incidents, these incidents take time," he said. "We need to do it properly.
"Everyone is working very hard, we just need a little bit of luck."
Gleision Colliery, in operation since 1993, works coal under a very steep hillside above the banks of the river Tawe.
It is a small drift mine working a coal seam from the Rhondda in a remote location cut into a hillside in the Swansea Valley.
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | Amazon Plugin | Settlement Statement | WordPress Tutorials