Emergency teams in Wales have found a fourth body at Gleision Colliery, as Channel 4 News Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson reflects on the lonely, dangerous conditions faced by miners.
First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones has been to a community centre in Rhos, where families of the trapped miners had been anxiously waiting for news.
“This is a sad day for all of us who have been praying and watching while the emergency services continue with their brave search and rescue operation in the Swansea Valley,” he said.
“The news that one miner has been found dead is devastating, but we cannot give up hope for the three other miners.
“I have met with the miners’ families this morning and they are showing tremendous bravery and resolve although they are under enormous strain.”
He insisted that the Welsh government‘s main focus was on a successful outcome for the rescue operation.
Rescue teams in South Wales have confirmed that a fourth and last body has been found in the flooded Gleision Colliery.
The four miners were found in the same area – the bodies have been removed from the scene but formal identification has not yet taken place.
Chief Constable of South Wales Police Peter Vaughan said: “We’ve tried to bring this safely to its conclusion. Unfortunately the conclusion we have is the one none of us wanted.”
Chris Margetts, from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said the first dead miner was found at the bottom of the main shaft and the second was found where he had been working.
Neath MP Peter Hain paid tribute to rescue services: “They worked absolutely relentlessly, and for that we are grateful.”
By around 1am, enough water had been pumped out of the mine to allow two more divers to enter but reports said divers could get no further than 20m into it, partly due to bad visibility caused by sediment.
It is a terrible, terrible accident and it is tearing the heart out of the community Peter Hain MP
Rescuers had said that they were “hopeful and optimistic” that the four miners trapped 295ft (90m) underground in the Gleision Colliery in Pontardawe South Wales, could be set free.
The four trapped men were named as Phillip Hill, 45, from Neath, along with Charles Breslin, 62, David Powell, 50, and Garry Jenkins, 39, all from the Swansea Valley.
At the scene, Peter Hain MP for Neath, said: “It has been a grim and harrowing night for the families. I have just spoken with them and they just want it all to be over.
“I said last night that I thought the situation was extremely serious and we are all hoping against hope that it will be resolved successfully soon.
“But it remains my view that it is a terrible, terrible accident and it is tearing the heart out of the community.”
Channel 4 News' Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson reflects on the lonely, tough and dangerous life of a miner and how the events at Gleision Colliery provide a poignant reminder of the UK's mining past.