Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Mine Disaster; The Injured; Market Mayhem; Mine Rescue; Can He Come Back?

Aired August 17, 2007 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. Another cave-in at the mine in Utah. Three rescuers killed trying to reach the trapped miners.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every man that's on that mountain and in that mountain, they are all just -- they're heroes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: What went wrong? What now for the rescue?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON HUNTSMAN, GOVERNOR OF UTAH: I, for one, as governor of the state, feel pretty strongly that we shouldn't let another person in the underground mine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: And for anguished families.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're worried about all those other people because of their families and what they're leaving behind. It's really hard to think about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: The minute by minute developments live from the scene on this special edition of AMERICAN MORNING.

And thanks for joining us. It's Friday, August 17th. I'm Kiran Chetry.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rob Marciano, in for John Roberts.

It's 6:00 a.m. here on the East Coast, 4:00 a.m. in Huntington, Utah, where the drilling has stopped after the rescue operation at the Crandall Canyon Mine has turned deadly.

CHETRY: Now another tragedy on top of the already difficult situation there. Three rescue workers killed, six more injured. They were trying to save the trapped Utah miners. The men were trying to clear coal and debris from the only path out when, once again, the walls collapsed. The Mine Safety and Health Administration calling it a seismic bump. For now, the search for the six trapped miners is on hold. Although they are still drilling the vertical hole down into the shaft seeing. This would be the fourth hole they're trying to drill vertically to see if they can see any signs of life and assess what the situation is like. We talked with Utah's governor, Jon Huntsman, just a few moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON HUNTSMAN, GOVERNOR OF UTAH: I, for one, as governor of the state, feel pretty strongly that we shouldn't let another person in the underground mine until we can guarantee their safety. We've seen too much over the last week and a half and we need to begin to learn from some of these lessons. So when I do meet with MSHA just in a couple of hours in the morning here, I'll want to get certain guarantees that there will be worker safety. And I know that the rescue effort is something that many had participated in and are very anxious to continue, but we need to make sure that safety is of paramount importance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, the minor's owner is saying that rescuers are still over 1,000 feet from reaching the section where the trapped miners were believed to be working.

Rob.

MARCIANO: Kiran, extreme sadness visible on the faces of families and friends in Utah. There is hope, though, for the six rescued there last night who did survive. We're covering the latest developments from every angle this morning. CNN's Brian Todd is at the mine, Kara Finnstrom is live at the hospital and Dr. Sanjay Gupta's in Atlanta.

First to Brian Todd live at the command center.

Brian, what can you tell us that's going on right now?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rob, we are clearly at a very critical juncture in this whole operation. At a place where some very tough questions have to be put to the mine officials, the owners of this company and also to federal officials who approved the operation plan for this rescue effort, as to what has gone on up to this point and what the safety measures have been and what went wrong.

But also a very critical juncture here. A critical decision has to be made going forward. When does the underground operation resume? Does it, in fact, resume? We are told by the governor that the drilling process is going to continue. Unclear when that will continue. You know, that could continue today.

But clearly, the digging into the tunnel has stopped indefinitely and will stop. But federal officials from the Mine Safety and Health Administration are going to be under a considerable amount of pressure now as to when to give the go ahead to resume the search. And, also, they're going to have to answer some very tough questions. They were the ones who approved of the safety plan, of the rescue operation plan for this and they're going to have to face up to some of those questions.

So right now we are waiting in the next couple of hours for a briefing from the mine owner, Robert Murray, who has been very, you know, forthcoming in this process. He's going to have to continue to answer some tough questions and from the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

What we know now is what we've been reporting, six workers injured, three killed. Some of these workers that were injured were very critically injured and we're going to be getting some more information on their condition in the coming hours. But some very, very critical decisions have to be made in the coming hours.

Rob.

MARCIANO: Brian Todd live for us near the entrance of that mine. Still very early in the morning there.

Kiran.

CHETRY: Right. And ambulances and helicopters rushed to the site, some as far as 140 miles away in Salt Lake City. Medics were seen doing chest compressions on the injured. Six surviving rescuers treated at hospitals overnight. At least three of them are still in serious condition this morning. CNN's Kara Finnstrom is at Castleview Hospital. That's the hospital that's closest to the mine.

Kara, what's the latest that they're telling you about the conditions?

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are still waiting for an update. But as you mentioned, three being treated here. Those three, we were told, had serious injuries. One person who was transported here overnight did die shortly after they arrived. That is one of the three that we have been reporting has died. And one person was transported to another hospital that has better facilities for treating these type of injuries.

This is a small, local hospital which can treat things like broken bones and some minor head injuries, but not a trauma one level center. And some of these injuries very serious.

Just about a block away from here, some of the families set up an impromptu vigil overnight, holding candles, holding out hope. Up until now they have been setting up these vigils for the six miners that have been trapped inside. Well now they have another additional six, the rescuers who were hurt in this accident overnight. And, of course, as we've been mentioning, another three who were killed initially or very shortly after that impact.

We have been here throughout the night and actually just a couple hours ago the governor of Utah stopped by. I know he spoke with you as well earlier in this hour. Echoed some of the same feelings that he did with you live this morning, saying that he really feels that this rescue operation needs to be put on hold until the safety of these rescues workers can be guaranteed. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JON HUNTSMAN, UTAH: It is from tragedy and adversity that we expect to become stronger and better. And I don't think anyone wants the lives of these heroes tonight to be lost in vein. It is from their lives and their experiences, indeed the experiences of the past week and a half, that we're going to become better and smarter and safer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINNSTROM: And this community here really just getting word in some instances because it happened overnight of what took place here this morning. There were a number of families that came here to the hospital trying to figure out if it was their loved one that was hurt in the mine and what the extent of these injuries were. So it's going to be a very difficult day ahead for this mining community.

CHETRY: No doubt.

Kara Finnstrom outside of the hospital there. Thank you.

We want to bring you now CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's in Atlanta this morning.

We're hearing about these injured, six of them that are injured. Some of the witnesses at the scene said that they could see medics doing chest depressions on some of the people. What do you think would be the extent of their injuries and how are they being treated this morning, Dr. Gupta?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's several things to think about when you have a cave-in or whatever happened there exactly. There's primary injuries from the cave-in itself. If it was some sort of blast or just some physical injuries from things falling on them, debris, things like that.

You can have problems as well with, you know, airway breathing and circulation. So if someone's lost an airway, for example, their breathing has not been stabilized. Their circulation. That may have been the need for the chest compressions at the scene.

But, Kiran, the way to really think about this is there's constantly surveys going on. There's primary surveys at the time. Decisions as to whether to transport the patient to the hospital, the local hospital or the big trauma facility that's I think about 50 miles away. Do they need to go by chopper. All these things are sort of going on.

Do they have crush injuries to the chest? Are there crush injuries to the abdomen? Are there head injuries? Do people need to be in the operating room? Do they need transfusions? Do they need special scanners to find out the extent of their injuries? It's an evolving process.

And some of that is probably still going on now. We first started talking about this last night around 7:30, 8:00, I believe. And so however many hours later it is now, people are still probably making decisions on behalf of these patients, making sure their blood pressures are stabilized and they will continue to improve as opposed to go the other way.

CHETRY: All right, Sanjay, we'll be checking in with you throughout the morning as we find out more. Hopefully, maybe, they're going to be giving us an update on those conditions, which we haven't heard, so far this morning.

Thanks, Sanjay.

GUPTA: Thank you.

MARCIANO: Kiran, last night's tragedy is yet another blow to the community around the mine. Huntington Mayor Hilary Gordon is with us now live on the phone.

Mayor Gordon, our hearts go out to you and your community. Describe for us the reaction of your town last night when all this came down.

MAYOR HILARY GORDON, HUNTINGTON, UTAH: Truthfully, it was a great shock. I, myself, was not actually in Huntington. I was at another meeting at Milltown (ph) about 10 miles away and doing other things. We had already been with the family. The original -- the six miners, their families. We had spent some time visiting with them last night and then went to the meeting and then it was later on that I actually knew about the tragedy.

And just a great, great shock and great sorrow. It just feels like a really hard blow to swallow after all we've been through the last week and a half. And everyone trying to hope in their own individual way.

MARCIANO: Obviously, emotions have gone through a roller coaster ride here the last week. Just how exhausted have people been in your community up until last night and then, of course, what happened last night is just a terrible blow for you.

GORDON: People are, you know, especially the rescuers have worked nonstop and had -- you know, they've had, obviously, some time and then gone back to doing more of the mining and more of the rescuing. But they spent long, long hours. Everyone's put in a lot of time. There's been candlelight vigils. There have been fund- raisers. So a lot of things going on in the community and around the community.

People wanting to do something, anything they can, and the things they can think of help. It's been a wonderful outpouring of love and support from all of the -- all of the communities. Not just our little town of Huntington, but all of the other towns, everywhere you go. Life tries to carry on the same way as it normally does, but all the time you have this at the back of your mind wondering when we're going to get answers, when this is going to happen, when is that going to happen.

MARCIANO: I suppose if there is some good news outs of this, mayor, six of the nine involved in this tragic accident last night have survived. I suppose the question that's gong to be debated throughout the day today, we've already talked to the governor about this is, do we continue to go after these six trapped miners that may still be alive, risking even more accidents like this? What is the view from your end, being so close to these families? Is your instinct to continue to dig, to continue to go after the six trapped miners potentially still alive?

GORDON: You know, that's a really tricky question. Of course, it's what -- if you -- I have a loved one there. It's what you want. It's an (INAUDIBLE). It is certainly what you would want. But on the other hand, no one wants to put anyone else into any kind of danger or risk that. obviously, there is going into the mine down underneath there the way that they have been attempting to do. Besides doing the drilling on the top, obviously, they've been going through the bottom, too.

So I think -- in fact I know at this point that is on hold. They're saying no more until they have totally decided that there is no other way. They're looking right now at finishing the drilling on the fourth hole, going through. And as I understood, they're going to just be doing drill the holes and look that way, putting the camera through, looking at these different ways to get in this. Maybe through the top. But I don't think that they're going to be doing any mining down in the bottom again.

MARCIANO: Well, I certainly don't envy your position. Mayor Hilary Gordon of Huntington, Utah.

Stay strong, mayor. Thank you for joining us.

GORDON: Thank you.

CHETRY: We want to checking in now with some of the other stories new this morning with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents. Hurricane Dean, we've been talking about this one in the Atlantic, it's gaining steam. Bonnie Schneider has been following all of the extreme weather for us. And we're seeing that grow in your radar picture from yesterday.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: Now we're also watching the overseas markets. Many investors waking up with a severe case of whiplash, if you will, after the Dow's up and down day yesterday. Ali Velshi is here to tell us what is in store for the market today.

And, boy, yesterday, as we have said, a wild ride with some major losses. And they recouped all of them.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, every time we talk about a wild ride, we think that we can't sort of do that again. And yesterday was unbelievable. The Dow was down more than 300 points at one point during the day. Around mid day, around 1:00, it hit its low point. And that was significant because at that low point it was down 344 points below 12,600. Twelve thousand six hundred is important because when the Dow hit its high on July 19th, it was at 14,000. So that's a 10 percent loss. In market terms, that's called a correction.

Well, something happened around there and people started buying. And you can see that, you know, by about 2:15 or so, it was starting to come back very nicely. And then after 3:00, another big dip, down almost 300 points again.

And then look what happened. In the last 45 minutes of trading, moment when the bell -- the bell actually rang at the Dow, it was aboveground. It was actually positive. In the end, the Dow closed just 15 points lower, making it the sixth straight day of losses.

But then overnight in Japan, the worst day in six years. The Nikkei losing about 5 percent overnight. It's closed. And European markets are actually doing OK. Because it looks like what happened on the Nikkei was specific to the fact that the yen has become very strong, making Japanese exports very expensive. It's not a worldwide problem.

So European markets are hovering around the break even mark. Right now we are looking at Dow futures down more than 100 points but still early going yet as we know. So we'll keep a track on that for the next couple hours and keep you posted about where you're investments are going today.

Kiran.

CHETRY: Sounds good. Ali, thank you.

Rob.

MARCIANO: Kiran, the search for survivors after yesterday's deadly earthquake in Peru tops our "Quick Hits." The U.S. Geological Survey has upgraded the quake to a rare 8.0. More than 500 people were killed and more than 1,600 others were hurt.

And NASA says it does not need to repair the hole in the shuttle Endeavour before it returns to earth. The space agency says that tests show the structure will hold up. Mission controllers were worried that the 3.5 inch gash in the thermal tiles could exposed the shuttle to serious damage during re-entry.

Well, three workers killed at the Utah mine. Rescue operations may be called off for good because of the danger of more cave-ins. And there were safety concerns at the mine before. So how up-to-date is the emergency rescue plan at the Crandall Canyon Mine? That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Your "Quick Hits" now.

The heat wave across the south has killed at least 37 people. The mercury topped out at a record 105 degrees in Memphis, Tennessee. Eight people have died in that town.

And a forest fire now feeding off homes in Montana. Fire crews say high winds pushed the flames into a cluster of about 60 homes west of Missoula. Twice as many were already under evacuation. The fire department says winds were gusty and the inferno was growing in almost every direction.

Well, one of the most active volcanoes in Alaska is on the verge of a massive eruption. The Pavlof Volcano is about 600 miles from Anchorage and could affect some air travel if it does erupts.

Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, we've been following breaking news throughout the night. Three rescue workers killed and six others hurt in the rescue to reach six trapped miners at the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah. We're getting a look now at the emergency plan, what they would have done in the event of an emergency. Were they prepared before this tragedy happened? Alina Cho joins us now with more on that.

Hi, Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Of course we're shining a spotlight on this because of this second mine disaster. You know we did a lot of research overnight, guys, and we were able to track down a letter to the mine owners, sent by the Mine Safety and Health Administration. It was dated June 13th of this year, just two months ago, and it says that the emergency response plan submitted by the Crandall Canyon Mine had been reviewed and actually approved in its entirety. It also states that the response plan must be looked at and updated every six months. Now those updates would include relocation of escape ways, changes in the mine layout, and even changes in the way they go about mining.

Now what's interesting is that the letter says that all portions of the emergency response plan must be implemented immediately, with the exception of breathable air provisions, which according to the letter must be in place by 60 days from the date of the letter. Now it's unclear whether those breathable air provisions were actually put in place before the mine collapsed. But they would include so-called safe havens -- we've been hearing a lot about that -- and enough oxygen cylinders for 18 miners over 96 hours.

Now when you consider what happened last night, breathable air would not be the first concern. That so-called seismic bump that we've been talking about can cause the walls of a mine tunnel to explode inward. And, guys, a source with intimate knowledge of the mine has told CNN that some of the rescue works had actually expressed concerns about working in the areas of the collapse. The mine owner, Bob Murray, says that those are just rumors. But, nonetheless, that is what we are reporting. Of course, the governor has spoken to us early this morning, Kiran, I know you spoke to him, he called this moving from tragedy to collapse.

And so now the big question is, will this rescue, or at least the digging part of it, continue. And that's an open question. For now, they've pulled those rescue workers.

MARCIANO: Tell you what, I wouldn't want to be the one making that decision. That's a tough spot for sure.

CHO: And a lot to weigh.

CHETRY: It is. And, also, just in terms of how much progress they've made on it, I mean, our latest reports tell us they've only been able to tunnel in 26 feet in a day of digging because of all of the problems and because of all of the rubble that seems to continue to fall.

CHO: And as you well know, Bob Murray has talked a lot about how he's been frustrated by the slow progress of that rescue effort. Remember, too, and we should point out, that they are still digging from the top. So they're trying to get that fourth hole to go down 1,800 feet. But they may not reach that point until late today, tomorrow even. And even then, it would only be a peep hole. So they would only be able to see if they are alive, those six trapped miners, but they wouldn't actually get to them.

MARCIANO: So frustrating. Thanks, Alina.

CHO: My pleasure.

CHETRY: Well, we have some other news now. Joe Biden's son is deploying to Iraq. The Democratic senator and presidential candidate's son, Captain Bo Biden, is in the Delaware National Guard. His unit has been told to be ready to ship out in 2008.

Also, a White House wedding could be in the works. Jenna Bush, one of the president's twin daughters, got engaged yesterday to her boyfriend, Henry Hager. They have not announced when they'll get married or where. Hager is a grad student at the University of Virginia. He also worked as a White House aide.

At one point, Senator John McCain was considered the front runner to grab the GOP nomination. But over the past few months, his campaign has taken some hits. So can the outspoken, Republican senator turn things around? My one-on-one with Senator McCain is coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning.

Politics now. You know, at one point, Senator John McCain looked like the man to beat in the 2008 election. Well now the one-time front runner is trying to regain momentum after some trouble within his campaign. I had the chance to catch up with him last night right here in our CNN news room and we talked about some of his controversial stances that have given him trouble with many Republican voters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIRAN: For you, the thing that turned out to be the toughest among the conservative base was your support for immigration reform. A lot of outrage among GOP voters. In fact, you, yourself, said that you received death threats because of your position on that. Would you change anything about your support for comprehensive immigration reform?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would change in that I would recognize that Americans, the majority of Americans, want our borders secure. And we failed because they didn't have the trust and confidence in us to convince them that we were going to secure the borders. Because of Katrina and the war in Iraq failures and corruption in Washington, people just don't believe us anymore. So we've got to restore trust and confidence in government and we've got to convince them that their borders will be secured for national security reasons, as well as outright immigration reasons.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: He also talks a little later to me about some of the challenges within his campaign and says he's over them. He appears to be re-energized. He's going to be talking about his chances for a comeback, why he won't change his mind about U.S. troops continuing to fight in Iraq, what to do with the trouble in Iran, and also what he thinks of some of his other GOP competition. Very interesting. You'll want to hear more from Senator McCain, coming up in our next hour.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: And we'll have more on our top story. The other cave-in at the mine in Utah killed other workers trying to reach the trapped miners there. What needs to be done to make that occupation safer? We'll talk more about that ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome. We're continuing breaking new coverage at the worsening situation at the mine in Utah. It is Friday, August 17th. I'm Kiran Chetry.

MARCIANO: And I'm Rob Marciano, in for John Roberts. The cave- in at the Utah mine is our top story this morning.

CHETRY: Crews are saying that nine rescuers who went in to save six trapped miners ended up being caught in another eruption of coal and rock. They're calling it a seismic bump. Three were killed and six others hurt.

It was another seismic event and the mine's owner calls the mountain alive with movement, forcing at least two delays in the past two days. Now the rescue effort is suspended and there is no sign that the six trapped miners will ever make it out alive.

We talked with Utah's governor, Jon Huntsman, just a few moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON HUNTSMAN, GOVERNOR OF UTAH: This has been a tragedy situation. It's gone from basically a tragedy to a catastrophe tonight. And all I can tell you, as governor of the state, is that the deaths that we have seen tonight will be in vain, that we will somehow learn the lessons from the last week and a half and, indeed, what happened tonight in making us better and smarter and safer, not just here in Utah, but throughout the country, and I hope beyond. And I ask for Congress and I ask for the regulators to take note of what's is going on to see if we can't all pull together and see if we can do something in terms of improving worker safety here.

CHETRY: Brian Todd has the latest live from the command center.

There's no doubt the governor is sincere as he talked about those changes, but when asked what would need to change, he says it's too early to tell what they could do to make that type of mining safer. Is there any opinion on the ground, Brian, about that?

BRIAN TODD, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Those are questions that will be put in the next few hours, Kiran, to federal officials here and to the mine owner, Bob Murray. You can sense in the governor's tone that he is at the very least concerned and possibly frustrated with this as we've seen this tragedy unfold overnight. Some very tough questions will be asked to the federal officials who approved this mine safety plan for this rescue operation, and to the owner, Robert Murray, who has contended, up to this point, this rescue operation was safe.

It's worth noting that a couple of days ago we were told by Robert Murray and others that at least 12 mines, who were involved in this rescue operation, asked to be reassigned to another area because of concerns about their own safety. At that point, Robert Murray, the mine owner, said, listen, no one said this rescue effort was not safe. Now he's going to have to answer questions about the mountain bumps, why they continue to push into that main mining area, despite the fact that they were getting continuous mountain bumps. Yesterday they had two sizable ones before this last one that led to these to these deaths and injuries. They're going to have to answer tough questions about why they continued through that process and, maybe even more critically, when they're going to resume that. Because Mr. Murray has said himself the operation that's going to get to the six missing miners is that underground digging. The drilling from the top won't get to them. It's the digging that will get to them. But of course, Kiran, the digging is what led to this event.

CHETRY: It's such a tough call and there was criticism that we were hearing last week about why is it taking so long? I imagine if they called off this operation because of this seismic activity three or four days ago, there would have been just as much of an outcry. Of course, things may have changed now in light of this latest tragedy.

TODD: That's right. Going forward, they're going to have to make, at some point, in the next day or so, or a couple of days, an incredibly critical decision. Do they continue that underground digging, which they're indicating is the only way that they're really going to actually reach these men? And if they decide not to, or if they decide to suspend it indefinitely, what are they going to tell the families of these six missing miners? It is an incredibly critical moment right now in this process because they'll have to make those decisions in the next couple of hours at the same time they'll have to take a lot of tough questions from us and from the governor, who will be meeting with the mine owner and federal officials.

Clearly, the governor, as you indicated, he's frustrated with this. He's going to be asking some very tough questions of them about why they proceeded the way they did. And it is worth noting that every step of the way in this underground digging process they have shored up the roof and the ceilings, the sides and the floors with water jacks. Incredibly heavy water jacks, timbers, other paneling to try and make sure that this area was stable. Clearly, it wasn't enough.

Questions about what they're going to do from here, they may not know the answer to those questions right now. And we're going to try to get some of that information in fact hours ahead.

CHETRY: We will continue to check in with you throughout "AMERICAN MORNING." Brian Todd, thank you.

Right now we want to bring in CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

A lot of the questions hinge around whether or not there is even a remote chance that these six miners originally trapped could continue to survive as we now head into day 12. Sanjay, what are the chances of survival in what little we know about the circumstance they're in right now?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. You know, a lot of that depends on the resources they have at any given time. Obviously, it's dependent on the air, the water and the food. Now, there's lots of different data on how long somebody can survive without these different things. It obviously depends on whether there are any injuries at the scene at the time from the initial cave-in. If someone was injured, they may have greater demands for this. But a generally rough outline is, in terms of air, that's obviously the most pressure commodity, you are going to survive 7 to 15 minutes without air? Without water, a few days you can go without water. Without food, a few weeks and that's a general rule of thumb in terms of survivability.

Now we have learned, as you learned yesterday as well, Kiran, that they did do some air testing in some of these spaces and they found that the oxygen concentration was around 15 percent, 16.8 percent in another one. Just to put it into perspective, typical air has 21 percent oxygen. The stuff we're breathing right now at about 16 percent of ox against. Someone could get lethargic or sleepy as a result of having low oxygen concentration and that could play a role, as well, meaning they could be alive but in a comatose state. That could be a huge factor because they wouldn't be able to drink or eat any of the food, if they had food down there as well. So it's a dynamic situation. We don't have enough information to be able to say exactly what their condition might be.

CHETRY: Hopefully the drilling continues on that fourth hole they're trying to use to get down there and see more clearly what the situation is. Maybe we'll find out more details within 24 to 48 hours. Sanjay, thank you.

MARCIANO: As Congress debates new mine safety legislation, is there Utah disaster a wake-up call for the coal mining industry as a whole?

Joining us now is Bruce Wattsman, the vice president of Safety and Health for the National Mining Association. In September he is leaving that job to go to work for Bob Murray, the owner of this mine in Utah. Mr. Wattsman is in Washington live with us.

Thank you for joining us again. What do you think? Do you think we need to change legislation or regulation when it comes to mine safety?

BRUCE WATTSMAN, VICE PRESIDENT OF SAFETY & HEALTH, NATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION: Let me start off by saying our thoughts and prayers are with our colleagues and their families in Utah. Events like this shake the industry. It will call us to look at our practices and procedures to see if changes are necessary.

Last year, Congress passed very strong mine safety legislation. We supported it. It was unanimously adopted by the Senate and went on to the president. That legislation will make a change but it will take time to fully implement the legislation. Much of it is dependent upon the development of new technology. And we're working with government researchers and manufacturers to fully implement that legislation.

MARCIANO: You speak about technology. When we look at the pictures and when we cover these mine disaster stories, we see what looks to be very crude technology. But in essence, we're going into a mountain or underground and we're digging out this valuable rock. What other kind of technology can be developed to make it safer?

WATTSMAN: I think most importantly, we need to expedite the development and communication and tracking technology. We are still dependent on technology that requires a backbone underground. And when you have an event like this or others, that backbone can be interrupted and you lose contact with the surface. We're not at the point yet where we have true wireless through-the-earth technology. And that will require a commitment on everybody's part and hopefully funding and hopefully Congress will be forthcoming and we will work with them to secure funding for that research.

MARCIANO: So it sounds like the main effort will be, more so, what do you do in the event of an accident, that kind of technology more than how do you get the coal out of the mine.

I want to talk about safe violations. We touched on this in the last our and I want your perspective on it. Sixty-seven times in the last year this particular mine has had violations, 40 percent of which were considered serious. Relative to the rest of the industry, is that a bad record?

WATTSMAN: I don't think that's uncommon, I don't think it's unusual. I think you have to look at it as a whole. I looked at the violations. I didn't find many that related to roof control violations, although there were a few. You know, the general public equates 67 to 67 traffic violations and if you have that, you'd have your license taken away. It's quite different in the environment we work in. And 67 is not an unusual number.

MARCIANO: Bruce Wattsman, vice president of Safety and Health of the National Mining Association giving us his insight this morning. Thanks once again this morning, Bruce.

WATTSMAN: Thank you.

CHETRY: A verdict for Jose Padilla and a victory for the Bush administration. A federal jury finding Padilla guilty of terrorism conspiracy charges. He's a Brooklyn-born convert to Islam who became one of the first Americans dubbed an enemy combatant after 9/11. He now faces life in prison.

Rescue workers in Peru are searching for survivors after the strongest earthquake to hit the country in 35 years. The government says that more than 500 people were killed and 1,600 were hurt. The U.S. Geological Survey says that quake was stronger than first thought, that it registered an 8.0.

Still ahead, Hurricane Dean is bearing down on the Caribbean. Hotels and airports in Martinique are closed. There's a satellite shot of the growing storm. Dean is getting stronger.

Meantime, the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin dumping heavy rains across Texas. As you can see from these pictures, severe flooding in a state that certainly doesn't need anymore rain. We have a live report next on "AMERICAN MORNING."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: The Texas Gulf Coast is getting pounded from the effects of Tropical Storm Erin. Look at these pictures. At least five people have died in these storms. In Houston, at least seven inches of rain has fallen.

Sean Callebs is there where the rain has stopped for the moment, but a tremendous amount of water in a short amount of time.

Good morning, Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rob. There are a lot of concerns that it is not over. We've heard a lot of thunder, seen lightning, we know there's a great deal of cloud cover in this area. And this area of Texas is one that cannot stand anymore rain.

I want to show you where we are now, in front of a grocery in the south part of the Houston. If you look, you can see police tape in the background. What happened here? The roof of this grocery store simply overburdened by the water yesterday. It collapsed, killing one person inside.

But a huge problem yesterday. People getting trapped in their vehicles by rapidly rising water. I want to show you amazing pictures from San Antonio. An individual got out of his car at one point, got swept away and was able to climb up into a tree, stayed there for some time before he was able to be rescued by emergency officials. In another part of Houston, an 18-wheeler went into a retention pond claiming one life. In San Antonio, another person got out of his car and was swept away. There was a head-on collision at the height of the storm claiming three lives, but the investigation is still going on with that. They cannot determine if indeed the storm was the direct cause of that fatal accident. Scores of roads had to be closed in and around the Houston area, through San Antonio, dumping more than 7 inches of rain in this area in a short period of time.

The big concern here, Rob, is it may not be over. We know there's a hurricane churning out. It could make its way into the Gulf. Texas officials are worried about this. They have had so much rain dating back to March, this state is flooded significantly. All they can do is keep their fingers crossed and hope for some reason Dean can veer some way and not punish this area anymore.

MARCIANO: We certainly hope Dean goes somewhere else, but the track is definitely menacing. Thank you, Sean Callebs, live for us in Houston, Texas.

We go to Bonnie Schneider now in the Severe Weather Center.

Bonnie, you may remember back in 2001, Tropical Storm Allison pounding Houston with a foot of rainfall. We often forget how devastating the rains from tropical storms can be. Now we're looking at Dean. Where's it at?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm sure you've been monitoring the track. It is headed westerly right now. You can see right now the thunderstorms are bearing down on islands like Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, as the storm works its way to the west. Dryer air has moved into the western half of it, but that's not slowing it down in terms of intensity. This is a Category 2 hurricane right now. Gusts are as strong as 120 miles per hour. As it moves west, it will come over the waters of the western Caribbean where the water temperature is warm and the water is deep. That will give the storm a chance to intensify to Category 4 strength as early as Sunday.

As we look at the track for the more immediate future for Saturday, we're looking at a Category 2 storm with winds at 110 miles per hour. Our biggest concern is, once the storm gets past the Yucatan and into the Gulf of Mexico, where it will go next. We'll have a better idea of that as we work our way through the next day or so.

I want to talk about Tropical Storm Erin. Rain will continue today for the areas like Sonora. We'll see the heaviest of rain west of hill country.

The rain will be beneficial to some degree. It's improved the air quality out there. We have low pollutants in the air for areas likes Texas. Unfortunately for those of you over the Rocky Mountains in the Midwest the drought has contributed to high pollutants in the air. If you suffer from allergies, it won't be that comfortable in the Midwest -- Kiran?

CHETRY: All right, Bonnie Schneider, thank you.

A deadly small plane crash in southeast Alaska topping our "Quick Hits" now. Five people were killed. Four did survive, including a 2- year-old girl. The company that owned the plane does sight seeing trips. The cause of that crash not yet known.

A trooper's dash-cam captures a nasty end to a chase in Pensacola, Florida. Police say three cruisers crashed into the suspect's car just a few feet away from a home. There you see it. They pulled him right through the window of his car to drag him out. Police say this suspect is wanted for a home invasion and attempted murder. You see him putting up quite a fight as it takes several troopers, four just in that shot alone, to finally wrestle him out of the window of his car and cuff him.

Well, down 350 points during the day, the Dow recovered, just barely losing anything yesterday. Will the roller coaster ride continue today? Our Ali Velshi joins us with a look at the futures and what the overseas markets are doing, as well.

Also, a deadly turn inside of a Utah mine. We're following the breaking news of a rescue gone wrong. Three rescuers killed, six hurt and the feature of that rescue effort and the six trapped miners is in question this morning. We'll get a live report back at the scene ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: It's 55 minutes past the hour, Ali Velshi is here "Minding your Business."

What are the overseas markets showing in our future this morning? Hopefully not the same wild ride yesterday.

ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL ANALYST: Hopefully not. Futures are indicating a lower open on the Dow this morning, not as bad as it looked yesterday. It's been a rough night in Asia. Japan's Nikkei had its worst day since September 12, 2001. European markets are still trying to make their minds to determine what they're doing and that's going to influence U.S. trading.

Another thing of interest, while this whole mortgage, subprime mortgage mess is working its way through the economy, we're hearing about the first layoffs from Wall Street firms. Bear Sterns, which has two mortgage lending companies, is laying 240 people off. They announced that from two companies, one based in California, one based in Arizona. These are mortgage operations under written by the company. It starts to make people wonder how this is going to affect the Wall Streeters and their big bonuses.

The reason why this is important is because that part of the economy does contribute to things like luxury spending, property values in the northeast, so it has a trickle down effect. We'll continue to cover all that. And in about 10 minutes, I'll be back with what your markets are specifically looking like this morning.

We'll continue to cover all that and in about ten minutes I'll be back with what your markets are specifically looking like this morning. I love to have better news for you.

MARCIANO: We hope so, too.

Our top story this morning, the rescue effort at the mine in Utah is on hold for now. Three rescuers were killed last night. Six are hurt. We're live from the scene right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Breaking news, another cave-in at the mine in Utah. Three rescuers killed trying to reach the trapped miners.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com