It was the third time since Monday's explosion at Massey Energy Co.'s Upper Big Branch mine that rescuers had to pull back after making their way about 1,000 feet below the surface and about five miles into the massive coal mine. The previous teams had to scramble back to the surface because of dangerous gases that could set off another explosion or fire.

"We had a long night and we had a difficult night," Gov. Joe Manchin said.

Manchin said there was still a sliver of hope for survivors and rescuers carried with them four extra oxygen packs, just in case. But even before they went back underground, officials had started using words like "recovery" and "bodies" more frequently.

Monday's explosion killed at least 25 miners and four others were missing. There have been no signs since the day of the explosion that the four missing miners survived but authorities and their families are hoping they somehow made it to one of two refuge chambers that are stocked with four days' worth of oxygen, food and water.

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Gov. Joe Manchin said crews entered the Upper Big Branch mine, about 30 miles south of Charleston, at 4:55 a.m. EDT and hoped to reach the area where they might find the missing miners sometime before noon.

"They are advancing," Manchin told an early morning news briefing. "They'll move as rapidly as they possibly can."

Rescuers had to wait to enter the mine until crews drilled holes deep into the earth to ventilate lethal carbon monoxide, highly explosive hydrogen, as well as methane gas, which has been blamed for the explosion. The air quality was deemed safe enough for four teams of eight members each to go on what officials were still calling a rescue mission.

Officials and townsfolk alike admitted they didn't expect to find any of the four missing miners alive more than two days after the massive explosion. Poisonous gases have filled the underground tunnels since Monday afternoon's blast

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