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Title: Rescuers call off attempts to save man who fell 190ft into abandoned mine shaft... despite video showing he is still breathing
Source:
Daily Mail
URL Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art ... e-video-showing-breathing.html
Published: Mar 5, 2011
Author: Wil Longbottom
Post Date: 2011-03-05 13:52:05 by A K A Stone
Keywords: None
Views: 189
Rescuers have called off attempts to save a man who fell into an abandoned mine shaft, despite video footage showing he was still breathing. The 28-year-old man fell 190ft into part of Murphy's Mine Complex in Jersey Valley, Nevada, on Wednesday. But the shaft was so unstable that parts of the walls were crumbling and rocks were hitting rescuers on the head, forcing teams to postpone the operation. A video camera determined the man was still breathing yesterday, but there was no movement. A priest had been called to give the last rites. JoLynn Worley, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, said: 'The mine is so unstable that walls were crumbling and rocks were hitting rescuers on the head when they tried to reach him. They're people who will make every effort to save someone, but they really can't get to him. It would endanger the lives of rescuers. 'It appears that due to the hazardous and dangerous conditions of that shaft, the rescue efforts were stopped.' The name of the man, from Battle Mountain, has not been released. The footage showed he had suffered serious head injuries. Images taken on Thursday night revealed he had been moving his hands. Rescuers from sheriff's offices in Pershing and Landers counties, as well as teams from the Newmont Mining Corporation, Washoe County and the U.S. Navy have been trying to locate him. Several descended into the shaft, but were not able to reach the man. Authorities intend to keep monitoring the shaft until the man stopped breathing, Ms Worley said. 'I know some of his family members were out there,' she added. The man was working in the area with a geothermal drilling crew and visited the shaft with two friends while off duty. It is among 10 such opening in the Murphy's Mine Complex in Pershing County that was originally worked around 1895 and was last worked in 1945. Between 265,000 and 310,000 abandoned mine shafts and openings are scattered across Nevada. Federal and state agencies have an ongoing advertising campaign urging the public to stay away from them. Around 50,000 of them have been identified as the most hazardous, but the shaft where the man fell was not among them, Ms Worley said. Authorities have been closing shafts that pose the most danger near towns and recreation sites. She said: 'People's curiosity sometimes gets the best of them. 'These were way out in the middle of nowhere where few people would venture.' >i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/03/05/article-1363255-0D7A9F3D000005DC-447_468x286.jpg">
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