NICHOLAS COUNTY, W.Va. — Work to dewater the Rolling Thunder Mine where a miner remains unaccounted for continues.

Governor Patrick Morrisey released an update Tuesday indicating the rescue team has been able to pick up the pace of pumping water out of the mine. The dewatering is now at a rate of 6,000 gallons a minutes which is significantly higher than earlier with more pumps now on site.

Officials say as the water level drops, crews will be able to advance further into the flooded entries in search for the missing miner who was a shift foreman at the Alpha Metallurgical operation Saturday when it started to flood. Seventeen other men were able to scramble out of the mine to safety.

Morrisey added the lowering water level is also speeding up drilling efforts to create vent holes in th

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