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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The biggest civil settlement from a Utah mine disaster is starting to move through state courts for approval.
Court documents show judges are signing off on payouts for children of miners and rescuers who were crushed to death or injured in a series of underground cave-ins at Crandall Canyon two summers ago.
Only the settlements reserved for children under 18 require a judge's approval.
Among the beneficiaries are two children of Brian Keith Pritt, a miner who survived the thunderous collapse two summers ago only to commit suicide months later.
A lawyer says Pritt was haunted by survivor's guilt -- he lost many of his close friends among the six miners who died in the initial collapse on Aug. 6, 2007.
Three rescuers died trying to reach the trapped men.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
