In pictures: Utah mine rescue

Six miners have been trapped underground at the Crandall Canyon Mine near Huntington, Utah, since Monday 6 August.

Part of a tunnel caved in on Monday. Seismologists recorded what appeared to be a small earthquake though there is speculation that a tunnel simply collapsed.

Rubble is blocking the tunnel to the men who are thought to be 5.5km (3.4 miles) from the entrance.

Rescue-workers clearing out the blocked tunnel face a huge task when every minute counts. It could take days to get through.

Above the ground, two drills are being used to reach the section where the miners are thought to be trapped in the hope of establishing communications and passing supplies.

The fate of the six miners has gripped Utah, where this "missing" yellow ribbon flutters in the nearby town of Huntington.

With no sign of life from below ground, it has been an agonising wait for loved ones.

When news of the collapse broke on Monday, families of the six miners gathered in Huntington to comfort each other.

Co-workers and friends joined the families for the meeting in Huntington.

This "medicine man" joined in prayers for the six miners trapped underground.

While safety has much improved in US coal mines, an average of nearly 33 miners died annually in accidents between 1997 and 2006.

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