Miners' families blast officials, saying, 'We have not lost hope'

HUNTINGTON, Utah (CNN) -- Families of the trapped six miners accused those in charge of rescue efforts of having "given up" on the missing men.

In a statement read by a spokesman, the families urged the Utah mine's owner and federal officials to drill a hole into the mine large enough to send down a rescue capsule.

"Precious time is being squandered here, and we do not have time to spare," the spokesman, Sonny Olsen. He was flanked by dozens of relatives Sunday.

The families expressed their sorrow for the three men who were killed in a rescue effort Thursday. But they said they still held out hope "that our loved ones are still alive and are waiting to be rescued." Watch Olsen's statement to the press »

Rescue teams have drilled four narrow holes into part of the Crandall Canyon mine since the August 6 cave-in.

But after the latest attempt yielded no signals from the miners and found only low levels of oxygen, one of the leaders of the effort said Sunday the vestiges of hope are waning.

"It's likely that these miners may not be found," Rob Moore, vice president of mine operator Murray Energy, told reporters earlier Sunday.

There was no immediate response from the company or from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, which the families also criticized.

"We feel that they've given up, and they're just waiting for these miners to expire," Olsen said. View photos from the rescue efforts »

The families demanded that MSHA and Murray Energy begin drilling a hole into the mine large enough to drop in a rescue capsule -- a device used to haul nine miners to safety after a 2002 accident at the Quecreek Mine in southwestern Pennsylvania.

"The family feels that the rescue capsule is the safest and most effective method to rescue their loved ones," Olsen said. "If rescue is not possible, the capsule is the only method to recover our loved ones so that they can have a proper burial."

Olsen said company officials have told the families that would involve "unnecessary risks" to rescuers, but he said rescue teams were ready to use that method if needed.

Moore said rescuers were not giving up and are working on boring a fifth hole into the mountain. But since a seismic "mountain bump" that killed three would-be rescuers and injured six others, underground efforts to tunnel through to the missing men have been halted.

Moore and MSHA chief Richard Stickler said it remains too dangerous to send rescuers back underground, so only the above-ground efforts are continuing. View the miners' profiles »

There has been no contact with the missing miners since the August 6 collapse. The location of the fifth hole was diverted after searchers picked up a brief, mysterious vibration last week -- but Murray Energy CEO Bob Murray said the vibration "could be anything."

Friends and family have identified the six trapped men as Luis Hernandez, Manuel Sanchez, Kerry Allred, Carlos Payan, Brandon Phillips, and Don Erickson. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Dan Lothian and Silvio Carrillo contributed to this report.

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