Rescuers say noises heard in mine, drilling increases

HUNTINGTON, Utah (CNN) -- Rescue workers said they heard a noise Wednesday night -- though it's unclear what it was -- deep inside the Utah mine where six men have been trapped for nine days.

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Crandall Canyon coal mine safety officer Bodie Allred, right, is consoled by mine boss Bob Murray.

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"We saw some indication of noise for a period of about five minutes that we have not seen before," said Richard Stickler assistant secretary of labor at the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.

"We are not sure what that means but obviously we saw that and we decided to move the 'number four' borehole into that area," he said.

The microphone was lowered into the third bore hole drilled into the mine in the search for the miners. The hole, drilled from a steep mountainside, reached a cavern Wednesday morning where rescuers believe the men may have sought refuge. Rescuers tried to lower a microphone into it, but they couldn't get it all the way down because of a bend in the hole. Rescuers resolved the problem later Wednesday and lowered the microphone which picked up the noises.