6 Miners Trapped in Mine After Quake

HUNTINGTON, Utah – Six miners were trapped Monday when an underground coal mine collapsed less than 20 miles from epicenter of a minor earthquake, authorities said.

The Genwal mine reported a “cave-in” at 3:50 a.m., an hour after the magnitude 4.0 earthquake, the Emery County sheriff’s office said.

“Rescue workers are on scene trying to locate six miners that are unaccounted for,” the sheriff’s office.

Rocky Mountain Power, a utility with a power plant in the area, sent a rescue team and heavy equipment to the mine, about 140 miles south of Salt Lake City, spokesman Dave Eskelsen said.

A command center was being set up in Huntington, about 15 miles from the mine, said Teresa Behunin, an accountant with Utah American Energy, which owns the mine. She had no other details.

The sheriff’s office had said earlier there were no reports of damage or injuries blamed on the quake, centered under the Huntington Canyon area.