Rescue workers desperately searching for a Pennsylvania grandmother in a 30-foot sinkhole are “switching gears” amid fears the ground beneath them may open up even more.
Elizabeth Pollard, 64, apparently fell into an abandoned coal mine in Pennsylvania while searching for her missing cat, and it has been more than 40 hours since her 5-year-old granddaughter was found sleeping in a car nearby. His whereabouts are unknown.
Rescuers believe the huge sinkhole opened when Ms Pollard walked over the area and are concerned that continued search efforts for her could put searchers at risk.
“The integrity of the mine is beginning to suffer,” Trooper Steve Limani told reporters Wednesday. PennLive reported.
Pumping water to remove clay and soil from the mine “could cause another mine subsidence,” he said.
“You're putting some people at risk. And you're probably going to have to switch gears, but in that case it might be slower and make drilling a little more complicated,” he warned.
Limani vowed to continue searching until Pollard is found.
A grandmother from Unity Township went missing while searching for her missing cat, Pepper, with her 5-year-old granddaughter around 5 p.m. Monday.
The girl was found safe and sound asleep in her grandmother's car around 2:50 a.m. Tuesday. The car was found near a large crack that opened behind the Union Bar and Grill on Monday.
“This sinkhole appears to have been created while Mr. Pollard was roaming around. I can't imagine it being created earlier,” Limani said Tuesday.
About 100 emergency workers used vacuum trucks to suck out clay-like soil from the sinkhole and installed cameras and listening devices inside, but no signs of life were found.
“Until you say we don't have a chance, we have a chance. I know there may be mathematical difficulties and scientific problems, but there are people who were in the mine an hour from here. They were in the mine longer and were recovered. They were saved,” Limani said.
