Quecreek Mine rescue shows spirit of Somerset Co.
By: WJAC Web Staff
SOMERSET, Pa. -- Seventy-seven hours underground. That's how long nine coal miners spent beneath the surface in Somerset County while they were trapped in a flooded mine in July 2002.
The nine miners were working their regular shift the night of July 24 when they dug into a flooded mine. That mine was abandoned in the 1950s. Millions of gallons of water, estimated at nearly 60 million, rushed into the Quecreek Mine, trapping the nine.
In the hours and days that followed, rescue crews from across the state worked at the mine site, off of Route 985 just north of Somerset, to make communication and rescue the miners.
The nation -- and the world -- watched as crews tried to make contact and develop the plan to get the miners above ground. Media showed up from across the country, covering each update, moment by moment, sharing the frustration of trying to get the men to the surface.
After 77 hours, in the early morning hours of July 28, one by one, the miners were brought to the surface in a special yellow capsule. All nine were alive, with none of them suffering any serious injuries.
Randy Fogel, Blaine Mayhugh, Tom Foy, John Unger, John Phillipi, Ron Hileman, Dennis Hall, Robert Pew and Mark Pompernak survived the dark and cold ordeal inside the Quecreek Mine, dubbed the mine miracle.
Quecreek Mine rescue in Somerset County, July 2002
After a mine wall was breached nine miners became trapped in a small space in the Quecreek Mine in Somerset County on July 24, 2002. Rescuers finally were able to reach them and rescue all nine on July 28.
WRAP All nine trapped miners rescued
POOL
Night shots:
1. Mid shot, rescue workers lifting yellow metal cage, bringing first rescued miner to the surface, applause as miner arrives at surface
2. Miner on stretcher
3. Second miner brought to surface
4. Wide shot miner placed onto stretcher
5. Various shots as miners are brought to the surface
6. Wide shot scene
7. Miner carried away on stretcher
5. Helicopter overhead
6. Various shots as miners are brought to surface and taken on stretchers
7. Wide shot, zoom in as miner is brought to surface
8. Various shots as miners are brought to surface and taken on stretchers
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Schweiker, Governor of State of Pennsylvania:
I know we've been working for a long long time, 77 hours. And I just want to say a few things, but first: Nine for Nine. (applause) We committed ourselves to the standard of Nine for Nine, we're going to bring everybody up. And I tell you what - the medical assessment team, the drillers, the assemblers, the people that secured the site: Give yourselves a big hand here. (applause)
10. Cutaway wide of site
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Schweiker, Governor of State of Pennsylvania:
All the guys and the girls who've been cranking for 77 hours: I said to my kids, I'm never going to meet or never going to see a more engaged, determined, hardworking, successful group of people, teammates, American workers, Pennsylvanians. (applause)
12. Pull out to wide shot
STORYLINE:
Rescue workers in the US state of Pennsylvania on Sunday pulled nine miners from a watery, 240-foot-deep (72-meter-deep) shaft where they had been trapped for three days.
The rescue was a jubilant reward for an effort that had been fraught with one gut-wrenching setback after another.
After three grim days of frantic drilling delayed by broken bits and busted seals, the rescuers broke through to the trapped men at 2216 local time (0315 GMT) on Saturday.
The breakthrough allowed workers to drop a telephone line to the miners through a small air pipe.
Then the word came from an unidentified, mud-caked rescue worker who shouted up from the pit near where they dropped the communication device: They're all down there. They're waiting to come up. There's nine of them. We talked to them on the telephone.
The first words from the miners were blunt.
What took you so long? one of the miners asked, according to a rescuer.
The Sipesville Fire Hall, where the families had been gathering, erupted in celebration.
Families cried and hugged and many were in the street with hands in the air.
Randy Fogle, 43, the first miner pulled from the 26-inch (66-centimeter) wide hole, was dropped onto a stretcher to the wild applause of rescuers.
After that, miners were brought up in roughly 15-minute intervals.
The miners needed little medical attention after the three-day ordeal.
All nine men were all taken to hospitals, where they were to remain for 24 hours and where they would be reunited with their families, officials said.
The miners became trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine on Wednesday evening, when they inadvertently broke into an abandoned, water-filled mine that maps showed to be 300 feet (90 meters) away.
As much as 60 (M) million gallons (227 (M) million liters) of water rushed into the shaft where they were working, and they were able to warn a second crew, which escaped.
Reaching the men was sometimes painfully slow.
Drilling a rescue shaft to the men, age 30 to 55, didn't begin until more than 20 hours after the accident, because workers had to wait for a drill rig to arrive from West Virginia.
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Situation Critical - S01E12 - Coal Mine Disaster
At the Quecreek Mine in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, coal miners accidentally dug into the poorly documented Saxman Mine, causing 500 million tonnes of underground water to flood the Quecreek mine. All nine miners trapped by the water were eventually rescued.
Quecreek Mine Rescue Visitors Center Groundbreaking
Bill Arnold, President of the Quecreek Mine Rescue Foundation, talks about breaking ground for the new visitors center commemorating the July 2002 rescue of nine miners trapped in the Quecreek Mine in Somerset, Pa. 9for9.org
The Quecreek Mine rescue in 2002
Late into the night on Wednesday, July 24, 2002, coal miners working in the Quecreek Mine broke through a wall that was supposed to be hundreds of feet thick.
It was not. As a result, 72 million gallons of water rushed into the mine.
Eighteen miners on the 3-11 p.m. shift scrambled to escape a watery grave. (Video by Deb Kiner/PennLive)
Hospital news conference on rescued miners
(29 Jul 2002)
POOL
Quecreek, Pennsylvania - July 28, 2002
1. Wide shot of rescue site at Quecreek mine
2. Men remove lid from hole for rescue operation
3. Rescue cage going into hole
4. Rescue cage carrying miner leaving hole
ABC
Somerset, Pennsylvania - 29 July 2002
5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Dr. Russell Dumire, Trauma Surgeon:
It's just been a pleasure dealing with them, I mean, when things had to be done. When one of the gentlemen went into the decompression chamber yesterday, he said, 'you know I just didn't feel like going in, but I knew it had to be done, so let's just get it taken care of.' That's been their attitude the whole time - there's been nothing (negative) -let's do it, let's get it done and thanks for the help.
POOL
Quecreek, Pennsylvania - July 28, 2002
6. Wide shot of miner rescue site
ABC
Somerset, Pennsylvania - 29 July 2002
7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Dr. Russell Dumire, Trauma Surgeon:
I do not predict any long term complications from the acute injuries that they sustained. We still are very worried about long term psychological implications, not just for the patients, but their families as well. Things like post traumatic stress disorder. All of them are being counselled on that prior to discharge and the availability of psychological counselling and social services are being made available to them.
POOL
Quecreek, Pennsylvania - July 28, 2002
8. Miner being brought out on stretcher
ABC
Somerset, Pennsylvania - 29 July 2002
9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Dr. Russell Dumire, Trauma Surgeon:
The thing that sticks in my mind the most is before they brought them out, you know, they said they were within 14 feet of them, at that time I was thinking the worst. I'm thinking 70 hours in 55 degrees temperature and 50 degrees water, I mean that's physiologically almost impossible almost to survive by anybody. And then to see these guys who had to crawl into that cage by themselves, shut that huge steel door and come up 250 (feet - 80m), and then come out on their own power, that to me is just a testament to pure human will.
POOL
Quecreek, Pennsylvania - July 28, 2002
10. Miner comes up in rescue cage
STORYLINE:
Doctors treating the nine coal miners, rescued on Sunday from a flooded mine shaft in Pennsylvania, say they were amazed how well they handled the crisis that could have turned to tragedy.
Two of the men who were trapped underground for nearly three days were expected to leave hospital on Monday.
A third miner remains in medical care while doctors evaluate and treat his specific symptoms.
Six others were discharged on Sunday.
The miners, who were trapped 240 feet (80 metres) below the earth's surface in Quecreek Mine in rural western Pennsylvania, were rescued early on Sunday morning after 77 hours in a water-filled hole.
The desperate rescue operation with tons of heavy equipment paid off when rescuers reached the miners on Sunday morning and pulled them up a narrow shaft, one by one, in a yellow cylindrical capsule.
Dr. Russell Dumire, the attending physician for the men, said on Monday that while he did not expect any long term physical complications from the group's injuries, there was concern about the psychological effect of the ordeal on the miners and their families. He added that all the men had been given counselling before leaving hospital.
The miners became trapped on Wednesday evening, when they inadvertently broke into an abandoned, water-filled mine that maps showed to be 300 feet (91 metres) away.
Authorities from both the federal and state government are beginning investigations into why the maps failed to accurately show the old, water-filled mine.
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Quecreek Miracle Mine Rescue - 10 Years Later
WRAP All nine trapped miners rescued
POOL
Night shots:
(First Run 0600 Aust/NZ Update 28 July)
1. Mid shot, rescue workers lifting yellow metal cage, bringing first rescued miner to the surface, applause as miner arrives at surface
2. Miner on stretcher
3. Second miner brought to surface
4. Wide shot miner placed onto stretcher
5. Various shots as miners are brought to the surface
6. Wide shot scene
7. Miner carried away on stretcher
5. Helicopter overhead
6. Various shots as miners are brought to surface and taken on stretchers
7. Wide shot, zoom in as miner is brought to surface
8. Various shots as miners are brought to surface and taken on stretchers
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Schweiker, Governor of State of Pennsylvania:
I know we've been working for a long long time, 77 hours. And I just want to say a few things, but first: Nine for Nine. (applause) We committed ourselves to the standard of Nine for Nine, we're going to bring everybody up. And I tell you what - the medical assessment team, the drillers, the assemblers, the people that secured the site: Give yourselves a big hand here. (applause)
10. Cutaway wide of site
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Schweiker, Governor of State of Pennsylvania:
All the guys and the girls who've been cranking for 77 hours: I said to my kids, I'm never going to meet or never going to see a more engaged, determined, hardworking, successful group of people, teammates, American workers, Pennsylvanians. (applause)
12. Pull out to wide shot
STORYLINE:
Rescue workers in the US state of Pennsylvania on Sunday pulled nine miners from a watery, 240-foot-deep (72-meter-deep) shaft where they had been trapped for three days.
The rescue was a jubilant reward for an effort that had been fraught with one gut-wrenching setback after another.
After three grim days of frantic drilling delayed by broken bits and busted seals, the rescuers broke through to the trapped men at 2216 local time (0315 GMT) on Saturday.
The breakthrough allowed workers to drop a telephone line to the miners through a small air pipe.
Then the word came from an unidentified, mud-caked rescue worker who shouted up from the pit near where they dropped the communication device: They're all down there. They're waiting to come up. There's nine of them. We talked to them on the telephone.
The first words from the miners were blunt.
What took you so long? one of the miners asked, according to a rescuer.
The Sipesville Fire Hall, where the families had been gathering, erupted in celebration.
Families cried and hugged and many were in the street with hands in the air.
Randy Fogle, 43, the first miner pulled from the 26-inch (66-centimeter) wide hole, was dropped onto a stretcher to the wild applause of rescuers.
After that, miners were brought up in roughly 15-minute intervals.
The miners needed little medical attention after the three-day ordeal.
All nine men were all taken to hospitals, where they were to remain for 24 hours and where they would be reunited with their families, officials said.
The miners became trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine on Wednesday evening, when they inadvertently broke into an abandoned, water-filled mine that maps showed to be 300 feet (90 meters) away.
As much as 60 (M) million gallons (227 (M) million liters) of water rushed into the shaft where they were working, and they were able to warn a second crew, which escaped.
Reaching the men was sometimes painfully slow.
Drilling a rescue shaft to the men, age 30 to 55, didn't begin until more than 20 hours after the accident, because workers had to wait for a drill rig to arrive from West Virginia.
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Video Project - Quecreek Mine Rescue Site
This is a project I did for a class I took as a graduate student at Penn State during the summer semester of 2016. It is a two minute video about the Quecreek Mine Rescue Site. I was responsible for all video shooting and editing. A green screen scene was also required for this project and is the first scene of this video.
Quecreek Mine Rescue: Critical Decisions
On July 24, 2002 coal miners broke through into an abandoned, water-filled mine flooding the Quecreek Mine with over 150 million gallons of water. Nine miners scrambled to safety, but nine were trapped in a pocket of air in the dark, cold, water filled mine. They were rescued four days later through the combined efforts of state and federal mine rescue agencies and hundreds of workers and volunteers.
This video was produced by the Commonwealth Media Services, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in 2003 to document the decisions made step-by-step during the rescue effort.
Miners in hospital speak of ordeal
(29 Jul 2002)
ABC
Johnstown, Pennsylvania - 29 July, 2002
1. Miners being wheeled into news conference
2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Doyle Unger, rescued miner:
I'm here to thank everybody that's out there that helped us, prayed for us, and dug in for us. Not for no story, no pain, no glory, just to thank all these people from the bottom of my heart. And, I thank our lord, God almighty, too,
that's another reason, the main one why we're here.
POOL
Quecreek, Pennsylvania - 28 July, 2002
3. Miner's rescue cage being lifted out of mine
ABC
Johnstown, Pennsylvania - 29 July, 2002
4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Randy Fogle, rescued miner:
Even the job we do, that we do everyday, I mean, you have to look at it again in light of what our families went through, and that kind of stuff. You don' t think about the hazards of the job and stuff, you know, just doing it. But now, I think we've all thought about it and what everybody's went through. I don't know if too many of us will go back to what we did do.
POOL
Quecreek, Pennsylvania - 28 July, 2002
5. Miner being lifted out of cage and onto stretcher
ABC
Johnstown, Pennsylvania - 29 July, 2002
6. Wide of news conference
7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Thomas Foy, rescued miner:
I don't want to remember something like that. But I know there was a time me and my son-in-law (who was also trapped in the mine), we all got together. That was the worst part, you knew you only had a certain (amount of) time.
8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Randy Fogle, rescued miner:
It's not something that we'll forget, really. To forget something about it, to me, I don't think there's anything I want to forget about it. I mean we relied on them and we did what we were supposed to do and thank God they did what they were supposed to do and it worked.
POOL
Quecreek, Pennsylvania - 28 July, 2002
9. Miner coming up in cage
ABC
Johnstown, Pennsylvania - 29 July, 2002
10. Wide of miners at news conference
STORYLINE:
Miners, who were trapped in a Pennsylvania mine for three days, thanked the people who helped rescue them during a news conference in Johnstown on Monday.
Five of the nine men, who were trapped for 77 hours in a mine pit 240 feet underground, praised the efforts of emergency workers, who quickly pumped air into the pocket where they were trapped, and said they relied on each other to stay alive.
Rescued miner, Randy Fogle said that the group would never forget the rescue workers, but told the reporters that it was unlikely that many of the nine would go back to digging in the mines.
Thomas Foy, who was trapped with his son-in-law Blaine Mayhugh, said that the worst part of the experience was knowing they could only survive for a certain amount of time.
In a rescue that transfixed America, all nine miners were pulled safely from the Quecreek Mine in rural western Pennsylvania early on Sunday three days after water from an abandoned mine flooded the shaft where they were working.
A desperate rescue operation with tons of heavy equipment and 18 medical helicopters finally paid off when rescuers reached the miners and pulled them up a narrow shaft, one by one, in a yellow cylindrical capsule.
As each was slowly raised, one by one, through the narrow hole in a 7-foot-tall yellow cage, rescuers greeted them with applause and shouted out nicknames. At least two miners gave a thumbs up as they rose from the mine.
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Quecreek Mine Rescue - July 28, 2002
On July 28, 2002, nine coal miners, trapped for four days due to flooding of the Quecreek Mine, were saved via a rescue shaft. Combined efforts of local, state, and federal agencies, mining and other industries, local mine workers, emergency responders, and community members led to the rescue. The incident prompted changes in mine safety, mapping and drilling methods. It roused national media & public attention.
This video, preserved by the Pennsylvania State Archives, includes a press conference and footage of the mine rescue at the Black Wolf Coal Company's Quecreek Mine.
Pennsylvania State Archives
RG020.007 Governors Tom Ridge and Mark S. Schweiker Video Recordings, 1994-2003.
RG020 Video Asset No. 3842R
Quecreek Mine Rescue Press Conference and the Mine Rescue
President meets miners who survived pit ordeal
1. Bush walks into Green Tree firehouse
2. Cutaway of audience
3. SOUNDBITE (English) US President George W. Bush
Today we're here to celebrate life, the value of life and as importantly the spirit of America. I asked to come by to meet our nine citizens and their families because I believe that what took place here in Pennsylvania really represents the best of our country, what I call the spirit of America, the great strength of our nation.
4. Cutaway of miners, pull out to wide shot of Bush speaking
5. SOUNDBITE (English) US President George W. Bush
Our folks are world renowned for mine rescue and the nation saw why. And there are nine lives here to testify that we're some of the best at rescuing our fellow citizens. The best of America really is the use of our technology and know-how to save lives and to help others in need.
6. Cutaway of rescuers
7. Bush shaking hands with miners
STORYLINE:
President Bush on Monday hailed last month's rescue of nine trapped miners as the best of America.
The president met privately with the miners at a fire house near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, then publicly praised the nine - and their rescuers - for their teamwork and indomitable faith.
He said they were a living example of the same spirit that would help America prevail in the campaign against terror and other challenges.
The nine miners were brought to the surface three days after a surge of water from an abandoned shaft pinned them 240 feet underground.
They survived by finding higher ground, then huddling together to keep warm and sharing a paltry food supply.
Bush saluted the courage of the miners and thanked those who joined the rescue operation, many of whom were in his audience, along with the miners themselves, dressed casually in t-shirts and baseball hats.
Bush's Pennsylvania stopover came as he returned from a weekend at his parents' vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine.
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Hunting for crocs in the Ice Mine.
I shot this at Trough Creek State Park in PA on July 26, 2008. It was me acting like the Crocodile Hunter trying to hunt for crocs in the Ice Mine there at the park. Did I find any? Stay tuned to see! ;)
Crikey!!! LOL
Somerset, Pennsylvania
Somerset is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,277 at the 2010 census. The borough is surrounded by Somerset Township. It is the county seat of Somerset County. Somerset is just off Exit 110 of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Somerset is the principal city of the Somerset, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area, and is also one of two cities, the other being Johnstown, that make up the larger Johnstown-Somerset, PA Combined Statistical Area.
This video is targeted to blind users.
Attribution:
Article text available under CC-BY-SA
Creative Commons image source in video
Coal Mines: A Dangerous Way To Make Money - History Documentary Films
Coal Mining: The Dangerous Job on EARTH - DOCFILMS The objective of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its power material, and, given that the 1880s, has actually.
Coal Mines: A Dangerous Way To Make Money - History Documentary Films The aim of coal mining is to get coal and in some cases various other resources from the ground. In the United States,.
At the Quecreek Mine in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, coal miners accidentally dug into the poorly documented Saxman Mine, causing 500 million tonnes of underground water to flood the Quecreek.
Building wiring is the electrical wiring and associated devices such as switches, meters and light fittings used in buildings or other structures. Electrical wiring
Coal miner killed in Somerset County
Coal miner killed in Somerset County
Governor says rescue attempt was close to disaster
POOL
Near Somerset, Pennsylvania - 28 July 2002
1. Coal miner being pulled up in a cage
Somerset, Pennsylvania POOL July 28, 2002
2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mark Schwieker, Pennsylvania Governor:
Point being that that delay brought on by Mother Nature's fickle way, and that geological formation that we couldn't move through providential intervention, we would have gone down there, gone through the ceiling and we would have hit water and one only knows what would have happened after that. And so it's quite a coincidence and significant note that they wanted you to know.
POOL
Near Somerset, Pennsylvania - 28 July 2002
3. Sign reading Pray for safe rescue of coal miners
4. Coal miner being carried away on a stretcher
Somerset, Pennsylvania ABC July 28, 2002
5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Dr. Russell Dumire, a trauma surgeon at
Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center
One of which is in the decompression chamber for type I decompression sickness or early bends, as you might put it. Mildest form, at best. His symptoms have improved markedly in the chamber which seems to suggest it truly is a nitrogen gas formation in the joint problem.
POOL
Near Somerset, Pennsylvania - 28 July 2002
6. Coal miner being pulled from the rescue cage
STORYLINE:
Nine coal miners trapped 240-feet below the earth's surface were rescued early Sunday morning after 77 hours in a water filled hole.
The desperate rescue operation involved more than 150 workers, tons of heavy equipment and 18 medical helicopters. The miners were pulled up a narrow shaft in a yellow cylindrical capsule.
Covered in coal dust, the men were soaking wet in their heavy-duty work clothes. Still, they emerged in surprisingly good physical condition.
One of the miners was placed in a decompression chamber after experiencing early symptoms of the bends, an excruciating condition caused by sudden changes in pressure, Dr. Russell Dumire, a trauma surgeon at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center said. Two others were being kept for observation.
Gov. Mark Schweiker met with six of the miners on Sunday and said they were in wonderful spirits.
The miners were in total darkness much of the time, using the two working lights only for occasional forays into the shaft. One rescued miner said the men were snuggling each other, laying up against each other, sitting back-to-back to each other, anything to produce body heat. The miners also huddled around a pipe funnelling down warm air.
At the hospital, the miners pretty much devoured anything that was put in front of them, wolfing down doughnuts, sandwiches, soup and coffee, Dumire said. Several asked for beer, but doctors would not allow it because of the danger of dehydration.
Rescuers bored through the ceiling of where the miners were trapped at 10:16 p.m. Saturday. The breakthrough allowed workers to drop a telephone line to the miners and confirm they were alive. One of the miners reportedly requested chewing tobacco; as a result, Conemaugh hospital got more chewing tobacco than it knew what to do with.
The first miner was pulled out about 1 a.m. Sunday - to the wild applause of rescuers - and dropped onto a stretcher. After that, miners were brought up in roughly 15-minute intervals. The last emerged about 2:45 a.m.
The miners surprised medical personnel who had prepared to treat them for symptoms of hypothermia or the bends. Decompression chambers, ambulances and 18 helicopters were at the scene 55 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
Though the miners had not been heard since Thursday because of the noise of rescue equipment, mining company spokesman John Weir said they were tapping the whole time they were down there.
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Memorial Day In Rockwood PA USA # 9 In Series 2015 ( Our new friends )
These are some of the people I met !! # 9 in series. My wife and I wrecked our motorcycle in rural Somerset County PA. May 8th 2015. We were at the mercy of the local citizens as we lay injured in a ditch along a country road surrounded by fields and forest. The response was immediate, skilled, and complete. As they cut my wife's clothes off they provided calming reassurance, traffic control, witness statements, and ALL that we needed at the time. Locals took control of us and our motorcycle and belongings. They ALL were 100% volunteers, giving their time to help total strangers. I owed them...period. Memorial Day provided me a chance to meet them all again and thank them personally with a hand shake and a donation to their service organizations. Small town America at it's finest! Come spend Memorial Day in Rockwood PA USA, you will be glad you did. Tag: American Legion Riders Post #279, New Centerville Rural VFD.