All 70 Canadian miners safe but still trapped
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-01-30 13:46

All 70 miners trapped in a potash mine were safe in refuge rooms but would have to remain underground as firefighters battled a blaze at the mine in the Prairie province of Saskatchewan, Canadian television said on Sunday.

The K2 Postash Mine site near Esterhazy, Sask., on Sunday. [CP]

In a briefing with local media, mine officials said the miners would remain in the safe rooms for several hours more at least.

Marshall Hamilton, a spokesman for Mosaic Co., which operates the mine in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, had said earlier on CTV the company was in radio contact with only 40 of the miners.

CBC Television said miners at the operation reported smoke almost a little more than a half mile underground early Sunday morning.

Hamilton said the miners were trained to seek out refuge stations, which are specifically built and designed for such incidents.

"In those refuge stations, the workers can seal themselves in and be safe with enough oxygen, food and water to be comfortable for 36 hours at the least," he said.

Hamilton said the fire was "the trickiest one that we've encountered in a quite a few years." The families of the trapper miners had been contacted, he said.