Montcoal

Toxic Gas Levels in Mine Drop

Rescue teams hoping to reenter.

The rescue team searching for four trapped coal miners in West Virginia hopes to reenter the mine Thursday night, after being forced to evacuate this morning due to toxic gases. The miners have been missing for three days since an explosion killed 25 at the Montcoal site. Officials from Massey Energy Co., which owns the mine, said that they were working to open a vent to let out the explosive gases and should be ready to send the rescue team back by 8 p.m. President Obama has ordered federal officials to report next week on what caused the explosion and how ones like it could be prevented. The rescuers had hauled equipment four miles into the mine, getting within 500 feet of an emergency airtight refuge chamber where they thought the miners could be, when they were called back because of dangerous gas levels. "This is still a rescue mission to us," a mine company executive said at a news conference. "You know, we still believe."