Two mining vehicles were extensively damaged in a wall collapse that trapped two workers under thousands of tons of rock and dirt, The Associated Press quoted a federal official as saying today. A backhoe and a bulldozer were found side by side Thursday night at the open-pit mine near Barton, about 150 miles (241 kilometers) west of Baltimore. Crews were meticulously removing debris near the vehicles in the frantic search for the missing miners, Bob Cornett, acting regional director for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, said in a statement. Officials have said the miners were operating heavy machinery side by side when a wall collapsed Tuesday and buried the men under at least 45 feet (13.7 meters) of debris in the open-pit mine. They have not communicated using their CB radios. A mine agency spokeswoman who gave copies of Cornett's one-paragraph statement to reporters at the scene declined to answer questions. Ambulances were in position to treat and transport any survivors, although Cornett has acknowledged that the men's survival chances grow dimmer as time passes.
