Candlelight Vigil Held for Trapped Miners

Candlelight Vigil Held for Trapped Miners


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**AP Photo/Salt Lake Tribune, Rick Egan**Alex Cabrero Reporting

Residents of Huntington and nearby areas wanted to do something as a community to keep those miners in their prayers, so tonight, they held a candlelight vigil.

Huntington's rodeo grounds was packed Wednesday night, but there was no rodeo. Diane Nelson was one of hundreds who was at the candlelight vigil, held for the trapped miners and their families. She said, "I keep thinking if it was one of my family members I would want people to support me and care and pray for me, and you know, it means a lot to me."

It also means a lot to Henry Smith. Of all the people in attendance, he knows what those miners are going through. "I was trapped for two and a half hours. I woke up underneath a lamp at the hospital," he told us.

Back in 1984, Smith was trapped when Utah's Beaver Creek mine came down on him.

"Oh it was hard, ‘cuz right in front of me I seen guys getting killed," he said.

He thought he was going to die too, until rescuers found him. Smith says, "It was something like a miracle."

He's hoping for a miracle, once again, for these six miners, especially because he knows some of them.

Smith says that if the miners survived the initial collapse, there is a very good chance the men are still alive in there, but it's that big if everyone is concerned about.

Tonight's Mass at Salt Lake's the Cathedral of the Madeleine was dedicated to the miners and their families.

Bishop John Wester said, "We offer our fervent prayer on behalf of the Huntington valley miners trapped beneath the earth at the Crandall Canyon mine."

He says times of worry and fear are the times to come together and know that God is with us too.

Tomorrow at 11 a.m., Bishop Wester will lead a special Mass in Huntington at the San Rafael Mission, 1716 S. Highway 10. Due to the small size of this church, audio speakers will be set up outdoors.

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