Rescue teams reach trapped miners

27 September 2011 Last updated at 14:00 ET

Kellingley Colliery is one of Britain’s deepest remaining mines

A miner has been rescued following a roof fall in a North Yorkshire pit as rescue teams work to bring a second to the surface.

The National Union of Miners confirmed emergency services had located the second miner at Kellingley Colliery, close to Knottingley.

An emergency call was made at 16:51 BST when the two men became trapped up to their waist by debris.

Managed by UK Coal, Kellingley is one of Britain’s deepest remaining mines.

The condition of the miners has not been revealed.

It was initially thought that one miner had been taken to hospital but the ambulance service later confirmed this was not the case.

Methane Explosion

The men were said to have been some distance from the entrance shaft.

The colliery employs about 600 staff and its two main shafts are 800m (2624ft) deep.

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service said: “We received a 999 call at 16:51 to a report of two men trapped underground at a colliery in Knottingley.

“We deployed a specialist hazardous area response team who are trained to work underground.

“They went with two doctors, a rapid response vehicle, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and an incident officer is also on the scene.”

A spokesperson from North Yorkshire Police said all emergency services were at the scene, along with UK Coal.

Kellingley supplies coal to local power stations and produces some coal for households.

On 30 November 2010, 200 workers were evacuated from the pit at Kellingley after a methane explosion underground.

Miner Ian Cameron died after equipment fell on him on 18 October 2009.

In September 2008, Don Cook died in a rock fall.

Earlier this month, four men were killed in a Swansea Valley colliery in Wales.

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