Rescuers unable to search mine for woman who may have fallen into sinkhole
The abandoned mine where a missing woman may have fallen when a sinkhole opened in Pennsylvania has become too unsafe for search crews, rescuers say.
Elizabeth Pollard, 64, was reported missing by family members after she went out to search for her cat on Monday night.
Officials believe she could have fallen into a 30-ft (9m) deep sinkhole connected to a mine, that may have opened up below her as she was searching for the cat.
In an update Wednesday, police said the roof of the mine collapsed in several places, making it too dangerous to continue the search underground.
"At this point, the scope of the situation and the condition of the mines, it's beyond sending rescuers in," Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department Chief John Bacha said.
He added that they were working on getting cameras, electronic devices and rescue dogs into the area to locate Mrs Pollard.
Some microphones and cameras already have been lowered into the hole, but Mrs Pollard has yet to be found. Rescuers said they spotted what appeared to be a shoe during one search.
Rescuers were able to enter the mine on Tuesday, after widening the sinkhole and drilling a separate opening.
But cold water, which was being used to help flush dirt out of the mine, started affecting its integrity, officials said.
"We did get, you know, where we wanted, where we thought that she was at. We’ve been to that spot", Mr Bacha said.
"What happened at that point, I don’t know, maybe the slurry of mud pushed her one direction. There were several different seams of that mine, shafts that all came together where this happened at."
Pennsylvania State Trooper Steve Limani said extreme care needed to be taken in the mine.
"We have to be very careful with the water issues we've been experiencing," he said.
He added that a new strategy for the search will involve more digging and putting supports in place to help maintain the mine's structure.
Authorities said the search for Mrs Pollard is continuing and they are hopeful she will be found alive.
In an interview with CBS News, the BBC's US news partner, Mrs Pollard’s son, Axel Hayes, said he was going through a range of emotions.
“I’m upset that she hasn’t been found yet, and I’m really just worried about whether she’s still down there, where she is down there, or she went somewhere and found somewhere safer,” Mr Hayes said.
“Right now, I just hope she’s alive and well, that she’s going to make it, that my niece still has a grandmother, that I still have a mother that I can talk to.”
CBSMrs Pollard's car was found parked behind Monday's Union Restaurant in the town of Marguerite, 40 miles (65km) east of Pittsburgh, early Tuesday morning.
Her five-year-old granddaughter was inside, officials said, adding that the girl was cold but not hurt.
Officials believe that the sinkhole opened up as Mrs Pollard was standing on top of it while looking for her cat, named Pepper. They hope that she is sheltering in an underground "void".
"The sinkhole, it appears that it was most likely created during the time, unfortunately, that Mrs Pollard was walking around," Mr Limani said Tuesday.
"We don't see any evidence of any time where that hole would have been there prior to deciding to walk around and look for her cat."
At one point, more than 100 people were assisting in the rescue on Wednesday.
Temperatures, which have been below freezing the last several days, are much warmer inside the hole than they are at the surface. Authorities have also not detected any dangerous gases that are sometimes found in abandoned mines.
Source:BBC
