TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. - Rescuers methodically made their way toward the spot where 13 coal miners were believed to be trapped below ground Tuesday morning as other crews prepared to start drilling a hole to try and listen for signs of life.

A coal mine explosion that may have been sparked by lightning trapped the miners 260 feet below the surface of the Sago Mine at about 6:40 a.m. Monday.

Four co-workers tried to reach them immediately after the explosion but stopped because of contaminated air. The blast knocked out the mine's communication equipment, preventing authorities from contacting the miners.

Several hundred family members and friends waited for word on the miners, including Daniel Merideth, the son-in-law of trapped miner Alby Martin Bennett, who had planned to retire this year.

"Every day he would come home and pray for who was going in," Merideth said. "Right now he is probably in there witnessing to people. He would be organizing and praying."

The crews took their time in setting up the drill because it was "critical that the start of this be done very accurately," Gene Kitts, a senior vice president for mine owner International Coal Group Inc., said during an early morning press briefing Tuesday.

A lead team was advancing on foot, checking the air frequently, with a backup team traveling in battery-powered cars via a track, Kitts said. Mine officials believed the trapped miners were about 2 miles from the mine's entrance.

The rescue teams entered the mine more than 11 hours after the blast. They were kept out of the mine for most of the day because of dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide _ a byproduct of combustion.

The miners carry individual air purifying systems that would give them up to seven hours of clean air, said Tim McGee, who works at the mine and was among those at the Sago Baptist Church. They do not carry oxygen tanks, he said.

Kitts said the miners each had between 3 and 30 years experience and are trained to try to tap on roots, waterlines, anything possible, to alert rescuers of their location.

"This is not a rookie crew underground," Kitts said. "So we're just trusting that their training and their mining instincts have kicked in immediately ...

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration sent a rescue robot to the Upshur County mine, situated about 100 miles northeast of Charleston. Rescuers also hoped to drop a camera into the 6 1/4 inch diameter drill hole to try to get a visual on the miners' location.

Coal mine explosions are typically caused by buildups of naturally occurring methane gas, and the danger increases in the winter months, when the barometric pressure can release the odorless, colorless and highly flammable gas.

But Roger Nicholson, ICG's general counsel, said that it was not clear what caused the blast and that there was no indication it was methane-related.

The mine had been idle on Saturday and Sunday, and two groups of miners were to resume production on Monday. A fire boss went into the mine before the first group entered the mine at 5:51 a.m. and declared it was safe.

ICG acquired the Sago Mine (pronounced SAY-goh) last March when it bought Anker West Virginia Mining Co., which had been in bankruptcy. The Sago Mine had annual production of about 800,000 tons of coal, the company said.

Federal inspectors cited the mine for 46 alleged violations of federal mine health and safety rules during an 11-week review that ended Dec. 22, according to records.

The more serious alleged violations, resulting in proposed penalties of at least $250 each, involved steps for safeguarding against roof falls, and the mine's plan to control methane and breathable dust. The mine received 208 citations from MSHA during 2005, up from 68 citations in 2004.

Kitts said safety at the mine has improved dramatically since ICG took over and the company is working closely with regulatory agencies to make further improvements.

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