Search waged for missing gold miner

ELKO -- Rescue crews continued a slow and meticulous search Thursday for a Nevada gold miner missing and feared trapped deep underground.

The man was working on a loader several hundred feet below the surface at the Midas underground project when the ground gave way on Tuesday, Newmont Mining Corp. spokeswoman Mary Korpi said.

The mine was evacuated and shut down. No one else was injured.

Specialized rescue teams have joined the search effort.

Korpi said crews have removed about 900 tons of broken rock underneath, but the job is slow because they don't want to cause another cave-in.

"We have to be very careful that as we go into recovery that further employees are not injured," she said.

Crews using camera equipment located the loader early Wednesday but no contact was made with the worker. The accident occurred between 200 and 300 feet below the underground mine's entrance.

The name of the worker has not been released.