Trapped miners in good humor

BEACONSFIELD, Australia – Trapped in a tiny steel cage nearly 3,000 feet underground for 10 days, two Australian gold miners still haven’t lost their sense of humor.

“They call where they are a two-star hotel – they’re the two stars,” said Matthew Gill, manager of the century-old Beaconsfield Gold Mine in Tasmania state.

Rescuers drilling a narrow, 52-foot-long escape tunnel toward Brant Webb, 37, and Todd Russell, 34, passed the halfway stage Friday and were within 16 feet by this morning. The miners were waiting for colleagues to come close enough to use hand tools to delicately chip away the last few inches of rock.

“They just said, ‘Do it safely,’ ” Gill added. “They weren’t concerned at the time (taken) at all.”

Since they were trapped by an April 25 earthquake, Webb and Russell have turned into the stars of an unlikely reality television experience. News anchors camped in the mine’s parking lot beam scraps of information about the effort around Australia, despite not being able to talk to the men or enter the mine where rescuers are working.

It’s widely reported what Webb and Russell are eating, how they are sleeping, even what music they’re listening to – country western – on the iPods rescuers pushed through a narrow tube that connects them to the outside world.

Drilling teams have been working around the clock, cutting through solid rock at a rate of 18 inches an hour.

Gill has declined to speculate how long it would take to reach the men, saying the final stage of the rescue operation, when miners cut through the last crust of rock using jackhammers and small tools, would take time.

Other officials said today they hope the men have spent their final night underground.

On Thursday night, the men had their first home-cooked meal since their ordeal began.

“Last night, they had soup made by their families,” Gill added. “I believe Todd had chicken and vegetable, and Brant had pumpkin.”