Police overseeing a multi-agency rescue operation to locate 29 coal miners missing in a West Coast mine say a drilling operation to complete a bore-hole is progressing well but reports the hole has been completed were incorrect.
Police Incident Controller, Superintendent Kelvin Powell, said contact with the forward base minutes ago indicated the drilling operation had got down to a depth of 142 metres however the crews had encountered heavy rock formations and a break through was still some hours away.
"Uninformed speculation only serves to add further stress to the families of the miners trying to manage this ordeal.
"Regular updates will continue to be made via the Police website and the media are asked to make use of these formal channels to avoid any misinformation entering into the public domain."
Mr Powell said all the emergency services, welfare agencies and the mining company continue working towards the common goal of rescuing the trapped miners.
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