Rescue crews in New York work to free 17 miners trapped in elevator shaft

[January 07, 2016]   (Reuters) - Rescue crews in upstate New York were working on Thursday to free 17 miners trapped about 800 to 900 feet (244 to 274 meters)down an elevator shaft at a salt mine, officials said.

The miners became trapped around midnight local time when a lift malfunctioned at the Cargill Salt Mines in Lansing, a town of about 11,000 people near Ithaca, the Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response said.

Emergency crews have been in contact with the 17 miners via radio and there were no known medical emergencies, local broadcaster WTEN-TV reported.

Technical Rescue experts and equipment have been called to the scene to help rescue the workers, emergency officials said.

According to Cargill's website, the Lansing mine processes approximately 2 million tons of road salt that is shipped to more than 1,500 locations throughout the northeast United States.

(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere in Los Angeles; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

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