I was thinking that if they don't want to send in a volunteer...

I was thinking that if they don't want to send in a volunteer scout, then they should send in a robot?

As I understand things, methane needs oxygen to burn, so if there is no oxygen, then it should be safe to go into the mine(with all the necessary equipment)

I must say that my earlier hope for survivors has been dashed after seeing the state of the ventilation shaft and read more reports. If one of the 2 guys that got out was 700 METERS from the blast and he was not too good - just imagine how bad it was closer to the blast. How would they still be able to still put on their 30 minute oxygen masks and then find their way to the oxygen station.....

...... my apologies for such a depressing posting.