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Randy yelled saying it was him Harpo told him to hurry up as he waited he told Randy that he wasn't going to make it .As the water tried taking out his feet. Randy came over and picked him up by his coveralls and literally throws him up on the belt. As the miners kept going there was a dip in there that got to high with water and the current was to powerful for them to go through Flathead yelled to Blaine to turn back around that's as far as we can go. -
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At 9 p.m. on wednesday, July 24, 2002, Mark Popernack, who goes by the nickname Moe , was a mile and a half underground in the Quecreek mine outside of Somerset, Pennsylvania. -
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That night Moe was cutting out a section of the mine and was having one of the crew members named Harpo pulling in with the shuttle car to get one last load.Everything was going fine and while he was loading the shuttle car he said they will have to do another load. Hapo got out of his seat, and looked back at the miner.He did a double take.The front end of the miner is illuminated pretty good, but for some reason I couldn't see the lights on the miner. -
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First I thought I lost power. I looked at the methane monitor in the back and it was still lit up. I looked back at Harpo and looked back the miner . . . he saw something. I yelled at Harpo, "Get out of here now!' And then I just jumped back into a cross cut, away from a wall of water that was coming at me. -
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What Moe didn't know was that he cut into an abandoned mine that at one point filled up with 7 miles of water. When Moe cut the whole seventy million gallons of water gushed through a six foot- wide gash. He said it was like poking a hole in the Hoover Dam. Moe thought him and his eight buddies that he mines with were going to all die. -
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After the water broke through Flathead and Blaine the two youngest men on the crew both with children, were the ones who wanted out the most. As they both started trying to find a way out they walked in water up to their chest that was moving fast.Blaine knew they didn't have enough time before the mains were closed off with water. -
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Hound Dog another member of the mine was holding on the belt structure going through there. He tried to walk until it got to high for his feet to touch the ground anymore. Hound dog climbed the top of the belt and started crawling. Hound Dog saw the other guys straight ahead of him. Hound Dog told him a couple of the guys are behind us coming, too Harpo and Randy Fogle are but he didn't know who else was coming. Harpo was at a point to where he saw a light he hollered and asked who is that? -
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Boogie another miner seen Tucker was ahead of him when he caught up to him Tucker told him we have to turn around.The miners were fighting there way trying to crawl on the belt line without it flipping and them drowning. Farther in the mine Blaine said he wanted to quit he was tired and wanted to let go. He got mad at himself and said he can't quit since he has a wife and kids. Eventually all the guys made it back up the beltway far enough so there is more or less water. -
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Hound Dog was wondering if Moe ever made Urger said the same thing and asked if he got in contact with the other miners ahead of them.They kept moving on hoping Moe was alive. They all started banging on the walls and then the water was over there heads.Hound Dog told Randy what we were going to do and all he said was that the water ot us. They all thought they were not going to make it since there was know other way out. -
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The miners tried to find Moe so that they all could be together. Moe found a golf cart,turned on the lights to see a small hole in the wall. Moe just waited for them to see the light and it had been four hours since he broke through to the old mine. Moe kept trying to make the hole bigger. Flathead saw the golf cart light on the other side and heard a noise coming from that side to Moe yelled and said i'm glad to see you Flathead. Flat head ran and told the other guys. -
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Annette Fogle Randy's wife got a call at about five after eleven from a state trooper telling her that there has been an accident at the mine.Another one of the miners wife Missy Phillippi Flatheads wife called the mine clerk dave for more answers but all he said was that they are trapped in the mine. -
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The governor and the rescue team came up with an idea to get the miners out by bringing a scuba diver team. They thought it was to risky. The Governer suggested bringing in a super drill which was located in West Virgina. Drilling won't start till 7:30 p.m. . -
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seven hours since the break -through. The miners were staying warm by leaning up against a machine.Thay all had an idea to help them save body heat and from walls collapsing. They used a miner survival strategy by making a wall. They first looked for food or water and they found some distilled water to drink. -
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All the miners were getting sick and having bad headaches from building the wall and having little oxygen to breath. The miners didn't know what was going on up there but Joe Gallo the mine engineer for the mine and the secrtary and treasurer of PBS coal and President Black Wolf Coal came to help the miners get out.Gallo and Rebuck got in contact withDepartment of Environmental Protection's deep mine rescue team. -
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The rescue team came and said the first thing to do is to get air to them they had to drill 6-inch hole from the surface down to the mine, a distance of bout 240 feet.They knew where the miners were working and guessed that the miners went to the highest point in the section. They marked several areas and used a GPS to find them. -
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The rescue team said they need drilling rigs to get the miners air.They found a drilling rig and the rescue team wanted to check one more time with the GPS to drill in the correct spot. Moe heard a sound and said that they are already drilling the miners were happy when they drilled all the wqy through they were happy. They guys said they should do miner Morse code so they know they are all alive. -
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THe miners and some there wives and girlfriends were wondering when they were going be on the news. It was finally getting on the news and everyone in the town knew about it -
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The water was getting higher in the mine it was 30 feet under the miners. The miners were afraid they were going to die so they said when it gets up to there waist they willl go under. Moe said no we will not we will swim up to a higher section. -
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The rescuers said to family and other people they do not know if all nine miners are alive they could just be knocking for random reasons.Later on that Thursday Pennsylvania governor Mark Schweiker came to the rescue sight to see how everything is going. -
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The governor brought in 425 horsepower engines five of them to pump out the water. THey told the families about them and how they should be there quick. -
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Thursday night at around 7:30 p.m. they started drilling they got down to 40 feet than a couple hours later they got to 60 feet than 80 feet. They would keep telling the famillies how the progress is going. Moe and all the miners made it to the new section where it is safe. They all made it but are throwing up there acid and getting hungry. -
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At about 8:30 p.m. Yost started drilling again he would drill slower since he would get closer to the bottom of the mine where the miners were at.He would stop every now and then so he doesn't get it stuck again. -
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Miners story dramatized by ABC in a televsion movie-The Pennslyvania Miners' story. -
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Friday morning at about 2 a.m. the drill rig has made it down to 110 feet almost halfway down to the miners where they were traped. They said they could probably have them out by morning. Latter that morining the drill broke and now it was going to take longer to drill and fix. -
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It took a whole day to figure out how to get the drill out ut they eventually got it and that friday night Governor Schweiker had predidcted that one of the drills would complete the 245 foot shaft and break through to the miners by early saturday morning. -
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Governor predictions of the drill making it all the down to the trap miners was a little optimistic at 6 a.m. on saturday, Duane Yost the driller in charge of the rig on rescue hole number one was at about 130 feet.Larry Winkler, the driller in charge of the second rig on rescue hole number two was 145 feet.The other rig came from North Canton, Ohio on thursday afternoon,and had already popped down a 290 foot dewatering hole in a field about a half mile from the main rescue site. -
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Wincklers crew was getting ready to drill another dewatering whole on Friday morning when David Hess of Pennsylvania DEP told them to move their rig over to the rescue site the bit in the hole one was stuck and they wanted to get another hole going right away. -
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Saturday at about 2:30 p.m. Yost's drill finally reached 230 feet roughly 15 feet above the floorbof the mine.He stopped drilling for a little bit so the water level can go down. At about 8:30 p.m. yost started drilling again and would take it slower so it won't get stuck. -
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Yost would keep telling the crew to check the hydraulic gauge that shows the amount of weight on the drill bit. When both gauges dropped Yost knew he had broken through to the mine.They shut down everything to see if they can hear the miners. -
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Houndog heard a hissing noise in the cracks of the wall he asked if Tucker heard it he didn't.Hound Dog shines his light and starts hollering nobody answered.He then broke a little bit of the wall down and saw water gushing into a 30-inch hole they drilled for the wter to go into an underground streams. Tucker saw the hole and said he was going to get the guys . asked if they were ready to go home they were happy. -
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That Saturday afternoon Snady Popernack -Moes wife was told it will be midnight till they drilled actually through. Later on that night the miners light were almost out when suddenly they heard a noise.They brought down a phone so they can talk and see how the miners were doing,wool blankets,food,and lights. -
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Finally they were going to rescue the miners one by one. It was hard to at first because the capsule was getting stuck they finally got it and when the miner came up they would put them on a stretcher to make sure they are fine. They finally got all the miners out after 77 hours they were back with there family they were all happy. -
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Labor department finds outdated and inaccurate maps from 1957 that lead to the accident. -
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Development of a memorial site began. -
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State and Federal grand juries decline to bring criminal charges against the mine owners, operators, and surveying companies. -
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Rescuer Bob Long comitted suicide -depression offten follows high profiles rescues such as this. -
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Quecreek mine is dedicated as a state historical site. -
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A public celebration was held on the five year anniversary of the rescue. This was at the rescue site which is now a park. -
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Minors settled a lawsuit against Quecreek mine. -
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Foy helped in the rescue of 33 trapped Chilean miners. -
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The rescue was featured as a documentary called I survived on the biography channel. -
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An Admistrative judge upholds a ruling that PBS coals should pay a 55,000 penalty for gross negligence in the 2002 accident. -
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John Unger works for the coal industry but stays above ground, loading coal trucks. Thomas Foy never went back to mining. He works for Center Rock, the company that made the drill bit that saved his life.