TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va., Jan. 3 (UPI) -- One body was found Tuesday night inside the West Virginia coal mine where 12 men were trapped by an explosion.
A mine official said that no trace yet had been found of the other missing men, the BBC reported.
The men were trapped 260 feet underground Monday morning and about two miles from the entrance to a gently sloping shaft at the Sago Mine. A hole was drilled early Tuesday in an attempt to communicate with the miners, but a probe showed lethal levels of carbon monoxide in that area of the mine.
Workers pounded on the drill and listened for a response, but heard nothing, CNN reported. Views from a camera dropped through the drill hole were also inconclusive.
Rescue teams also entered the mine and were close to the area where the miners were believed to be. Rescuers deployed a track-mounted robot into the main mine shaft, said Ben Hatfield, president of International Coal Group.
"We remain determined to continue the search so long as there is hope, and hope remains," he said.
Six miners managed to escape Monday, and Gov. Joe Manchin traveled to the scene to meet with more than 250 family members and friends of the miners at a nearby church. Many of them stayed up all night in a vigil outside the mine in Upshur County, near Tallmansville.
