As early as today, at least four of the miners' relatives could be on their way to Utah to reunite with their families, said Heather Barney, spokeswoman for Sen. Orrin Hatch.

The U.S. State Department is working quickly to make sure the paperwork for four U.S. humanitarian visas is finalized and ready for the relatives this morning, Barney said.

"Whenever they're ready, they should be able to travel," she said.

The expedited humanitarian visas are for one miner's two brothers and mother-in-law in Mexico. The other visa is for another miner's brother in Mexico, Barney said. It can sometimes take up to several weeks for a Mexican citizen to attain a U.S. tourist visa.

Barney and Salt Lake Mexican Consul Salvador Jimenez declined to say which relatives belonged to which miner.

Two of the three miners are Jose Luis Hernandez, 23, of Costa Rica, Sinaloa, and Juan Carlos Payan, 22, of Pericos, Sinaloa, said Sinaloa Gov. Jesus Aguilar Padilla in a letter to The Salt Lake Tribune. Manuel Sanchez is the other miner from Mexico.

Jose Luis Hernandez has two brothers who live in Mexico, said Clemente Hernandez, his uncle who drove from Wyoming to Utah on Friday to be with family.

Aguilar Padilla is working with Mexico's secretary of external relations to keep the families informed and send Jose Luis Hernandez's aunt, Marisela Hernandez, to Huntington.

Officials are still trying to get in touch with Payan's family, Aguilar Padilla said in the letter.

Crandall Canyon mine officials did not return calls Friday night seeking comment.

The relatives' requests to be reunited with loved ones started earlier this week when they were talking with various officials and community advocates.

On Thursday, Baptist Church pastor Shawn Clapp said he and Jose Luis Hernandez's brother Daniel talked with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. after a church service to discuss the family's request.

The Governor's Office then put Jimenez in touch with Hatch's representatives. The Mexican consulate then gathered the documentation needed for the visa applications.

Jimenez, who has been in the Huntington area since Monday night, said he plans to provide any help he can and stay until the rescue effort ends.

They are "obviously worried, fearful, but at the same time they show strength, moral strength," he said.

"The wait is the most difficult part."

jsanchez@sltrib.com

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* OLGA MUNOZ contributed to this report.