Martha Rial, Post-Gazette Amber Helms, of Arthurdale, W.Va., huddles with her boyfriend Jason Chambers outside the Sago Mine last night in Upshur County, W. Va. They were waiting for news about Ms. Helm's father, Terry Helms, one of the 13 miners trapped underground since yesterday morning following an explosion in the mine. Click photo for larger image. Related stories 'Everybody knows somebody who's in that mine' Mine crisis evokes comparisons to Quecreek Photo journal Graphic: Sago mine explosion Listen in The following audio excerpts are from remarks made by Gene Kitts, senior vice president of ICG, during a 1:30 a.m. press conference near the Sago Mine: Initial reports of a strong vibration at 6:31 a.m. Monday prompted the company to call for an evacuation of the mine Fire bosses inspected the mine before crews went underground. A 4-man crew entered the mine within minutes of the explosion to determine the location of the incident. Carbon monoxide readings convinced the crew to stop at a location called Two Left. The trapped miners are an experienced group. Training procedures call for the miners to take shelter and wait for rescue. Fourteen teams are on site to help extract the trapped miners. The rescue teams devise their strategy as they advance through the mine. The rescue teams were about half way to the miners at 1:18 a.m. today. Meanwhile, a hole is being drilled from above the mine to the area where the miners are believed to be. Detailed maps were used to determine where to drill. The main purpose of the surface drilling is to determine what the air is like where the miners are trapped. The trapped miners are trained to establish communication by tapping. The families are updated on a regular basis before the company talks to reporters. Family morale is good, considering the circumstances. The safety record of Sago Mine has improved over the last year. Good mining practices appear to have been followed.

TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. -- An exploratory drill punched through the roof of a mine shaft around 5:30 a.m. this morning where it is hoped 13 trapped coal miners are located at this hour, although an inital air sample found toxic levels of carbon monoxide at that point.

Mine company CEO Ben Hatfield stressed that the results were a single sample and that the finding did not rule out the possibility that the miners had survived in another area of the mine.

An encouraging note, he said, was that a camera sent down into the shaft found no evidence of explosive damage to equipment and materials in its view.

There was no sighting of the miners or any sort of barricade, he said, and the drill team pounded on the pipe but had no signal or sign in return.

The rescue teams have not been able to establish contact with the trapped miners since the emergency began at the Sago Mine.

The Associated Press reported that West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin IIIm confirmed the six-inch drill had entered the mine shaft area.

In a 5 a.m. briefing officials of the Sago Mine said lead rescue teams had penetrated to 9,200 feet into the mine, at that point noting combustion and elevated levels of carbon monoxide -- although still finding acceptable atmospheric conditions.

Drilling had progressed faster than anticipated and rescuers had expected to pause within 20 feet of the mine roof as soon as 6 a.m. this morning. At that point, all rescue teams were to be withdrawn from the mine and the final distance bored through.

At that point air samples would be taken and an exploratory camera would be sent into the shaft. The effort would also use a robot in the mine shaft to proceed forward from the 9,200 foot mark to capture more information about any gasses, obstructions and possibly send back camera images on the mine territory ahead.

Repeating the theme of a deliberate and cautious undertaking, the coal mine company's CEO Ben Hatfield said "As desperately as we want to reach our people we can't put other people at risk."

Asked why trapped miners wouldn't just walk out of the mine if air quality was satisfactory, Mr. Hatfield said they were trained to barricade themselves in an area with clean air and wait for rescuers if they thought there was danger.

Asked if he had a message for those watching and waiting over the rescue operations Mr. Hatfield said simply, "Pray."

At a 1:18 a.m. briefing, mine officials said the lead rescue team had advanced 7,800 feet into the mine without encountering hazardous gases or obstructions of the mine passage. The trapped miners were believed to be roughly 10,000 to 13,000 feet into the mine.

A separate effort to drill a six-inch air shaft to a point near where the miners might be was initially behind schedule. Officials had hoped to begin drilling at 9 p.m. yesterday, but hadn't begun as of 2 a.m. today.

The shaft will allow authorities to monitor air quality in the area where the miners might be trapped, and to drop a microphone and/or TV camera into the mine in hopes of making contact with the men.

A mine company official said it took longer than expected to identify the point to start the shaft and excavate the area to accommodate drilling equipment.

"It's critical that the start of this hole be done very accurately," said Gene Kitts, a senior vice president for International Coal Group Inc., owner of the mine.

At 6:31 a.m. yesterday, power failed at the Sago coal mine and shortly thereafter, a group of miners phoned the surface and said they were evacuating after an explosion.

From a second group of 13 miners, believed to be nearly two miles in and 260 feet underground, there was no word.

As rescue efforts intensified last night and family members gathered and waited nervously in a church, there was still no word.

"They told us to pray," said Judy Helms, sister-in-law of trapped miner Terry Helms.

The explosion left dangerous levels of lethal gases that held rescuers at bay for nearly 12 hours.

Hundreds of family members, friends and colleagues of the trapped miners gathered at Sago Baptist Church, a short distance from the mine, to keep vigil. Rescue crews and equipment were marshaled from around the region.

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III canceled plans to attend last night's Sugar Bowl football game and flew back to the mine site from Atlanta.

"Our hopes are high. Faith is good. Family is strong. We're still praying for miracles," he said late last night. "Everyone's doing everything they possibly can."

Mr. Manchin said rescuers had made no contact with the trapped miners and several ministers and other support staff were at the church to care for the families. He said the mood at the church was "prayerful and very hopeful."

"In West Virginia we've had challenges before," he said. He was referring to the Farmington mine disaster of 1968, in which 78 people died, including his uncle.

An eight-member rescue crew descended into the mine shortly before 6 p.m. A second crew entered about 40 minutes later.

Rescuers were kept out of the mine for most of the day while dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide -- a by-product of combustion -- were vented through holes previously drilled into the ground for ventilation, authorities said.

The rescuers were on foot and planned to make their way carefully, checking the stability of the roof and monitoring air quality as they worked deeper into the mine shaft.

They planned to try to clear any debris or obstructions by hand, officials said.

Meanwhile, mine officials prepared to drill an air shaft from the surface into the mine -- a measure similar to one used successfully when nine miners were trapped in the flooded Quecreek mine in Somerset County in 2002.

There were conflicting accounts from mine officials and mine employees about what type of rescue equipment the trapped miners carried.

Mr. Kitts said the miners carried an hour's worth of air in their rescue gear, but were also trained in barricading themselves away from lethal gases.

He said some of the trapped miners had 30 to 35 years' experience.

"We're just praying they have the opportunity to use it," Mr. Kitts said.

Officials said the miners likely were in the dark, in an area with 5 to 51/2 feet of standing room and a temperature of about 55 degrees.

Gene J. Puskar, Associated Press West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin visits friends and family of 13 trapped miners yesterday evening at Sago Baptist Church near Tallmansville, W.Va. Click photo for larger image.

Company officials declined to identify the trapped miners.

A partial list, compiled from interviews with relatives by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and reports by The Associated Press, included: Helms, 50, of Newberg; Alby Martin Bennett, 50, of Buckhannon; Jim Bennett, 61, of Philippi; David Lewis, 28, of Philippi; Randal McCloy, 26, of Simpson; Fred Ware Jr., 59, of Tallmansville; Jack Weaver, 52, of Philippi; and Marshall Winans, 49, of Talbert.

ICG has owned the mine since acquiring Anker West Virginia Mining Co. Inc. last year. Officials said the mine, which has operated since September 1999, produces about 800,000 tons per year that is used for generating electricity. It employs about 145 people.

Mr. Kitts and Roger L. Nicholson, senior vice president and general counsel for ICG, declined to speculate on the cause of the explosion. State officials said lightning from a severe thunderstorm that swept the area might have caused the blast.

Federal inspectors cited the mine for 46 alleged violations of federal mine health and safety rules during an 11-week review that ended Dec. 22, according to records.

The more serious alleged violations, resulting in proposed penalties of at least $250 each, involved steps for safeguarding against roof falls, and the mine's plan to control methane and breathable dust. The mine received 208 citations from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration during 2005, up from 68 citations in 2004.

The state Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training issued 144 notices of violation against the mine in 2005, up from 74 the year before. There were no higher-level violations that can result in major fines.

Mr. Kitts said there was "some history of roof falls" in the mine, but that was "not unlike other mines." He said the Sago mine was "not a particularly gassy mine."

The trapped miners were in a crew that was eight to 10 minutes ahead of another crew that managed to evacuate, officials said. A team that tried to enter the mine after the explosion made it 9,000 feet in, then turned back, fearing for its safety, the mine officials said.

One of the trapped miners, the 61-year-old Mr. Bennett, planned to retire this year, said his son-in-law, Daniel Meredith.

"Every day he would come home and pray for who was going in," said Mr. Meredith, who stood outside the mining complex.

"Right now, he is probably in there witnessing to people. He would be organizing and praying."