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Posted by Kindgo (Member # 2) on :

Rescuers make contact with PA Miners
Its on TV now.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,58890,00.html

Report: Rescuers Make Contact With Pennsylvania Miners

FNC
Firefighters test the rescue capsule that will be lowered into the shaft to the trapped miners.
Saturday, July 27, 2002

SOMERSET, Pa. — Rescue workers have contacted some of the nine miners who have been trapped underground for three days via a telephone dropped through a pipe, according to rescue officials.

News of contact comes just after the drill broke into the chamber at around 10:16 p.m.

"If there's any slogan (among the rescue workers) it's 'nine-for-nine,'" said Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker before word of contact. "We're bringing up nine of our guys."

A slim, unmanned capsule was to be sent into the shaft with a camera and communication device; atmospheric devices would also measure the levels of oxygen, carbon dioxide and methane in the chamber, said Dave Lauriski, assistant secretary of the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

The capsule would remain in the chamber five or 10 minutes, and, if any of the miners is able, he could climb in and be brought to the surface. If no one boards the capsule, a decision would be made about whether to send rescuers down.

Officials said it was expected to take time – perhaps hours more – for workers to ready machinery to lower people who would bring up the miners.

The giant drill fell silent around 8 p.m. so workers could repair a broken seal keeping pressurized air in the shaft, rumbling to life about an hour later. Earlier, drilling was briefly halted while workers considered the best way to proceed without compromising a hollowed-out section of coal seam, which they believed was partially flooded.

Schweiker said drilling resumed at a cautious pace as they approached the ceiling of the 4-foot-high chamber where the miners have been trapped since Wednesday.

"We have reached a critical phase. How we apply ourselves now is quintessential for our success. It's a fragile state of affairs down there," Schweiker said.

FNC
Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker
Throughout the recovery effort, the miners' families have been encamped nearby, hoping for a miracle.

The drilling of a second rescue shaft halted Saturday afternoon when an extension rod on a drill apparently snapped at a depth of 204 feet. Workers were trying to repair the problem. Rescuers are now mainly concentrating on breaking through with the first shaft, according to officials.

The accident occurred about 9 p.m. Wednesday when the miners broke the wall of an abandoned mine that maps showed to be some 300 feet farther away. As much as 60 million gallons of water rushed into the shaft where they were working.

The miners were able to warn a second crew, which escaped.

Helicopters were prepared to fly the trapped miners from the scene, 55 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, to hospitals, and medical personnel would be on hand to immediately treat injuries or hypothermia.

Nine decompression chambers also were on the scene. Medical personnel said the air pressure on the miners was the same as that experienced at 40 feet underwater, and the men could suffer the bends — bubbles in the bloodstream caused by rapid changes in pressure — once they were rescued. An airlock was on site to keep the rescue shaft pressurized if needed.

Air was being pumped into the chamber at a temperature of more than 100 degrees in the hope that it would warm the men, who could be sitting in a partially flooded chamber of chilly water.

Schweiker also said progress in draining water from the mine was slowing, with less than a foot to go before the 30 feet needed to provide the trapped men more room and ensure the pressure wouldn't push up the water level to rise when the drills finally punched through.

At that point, a cap was to be placed over the rescue shaft at the surface to maintain pressure in the chamber.

FNC
Hess said there was little fear of methane in the mine because flooding would have pushed gas away from the chamber. There were some concerns that parts of the chamber's roof would have to be propped up if they were undermined by the drill.

"Whatever happens, happens when we drill in. We have no idea what's in there," said Hess.

Hess said the miners, if they were alive, would hear the workers drilling above them.

Schweiker said Saturday morning that families of the trapped miners were encouraged — particularly after a frustrating day of drilling on Friday — when he showed them a handful of limestone from a depth of 150 feet.

"That served to buoy their spirits," the governor said.

Workers began drilling the first shaft on Thursday night and made good progress until around 2 a.m. Friday, when the drill bit hit hard rock or coal and broke. Crews spent most of Friday in a frustrating struggle to get the broken 1,500-pound bit out of the 100-foot-deep hole and install a new one that had been rushed in by helicopter.

A second rescue shaft was started on Friday, about 75 feet from the first. With work continuing on both, Hess said the drilling crews vied to finish first.

"We have to believe, that's all you can do," said drill worker Jody Frantz, 29.

But there was no clear indication the miners, ages 30 to 55, were still alive. Rescuers twice tried to listen for them Friday, but noise from rescue equipment made it too difficult to hear tapping sounds or other noises.

Dozens of family members kept a vigil at a fire hall in nearby Sipesville, and had made several trips to the rescue site. The governor said officials were meeting with them every hour to bring them up to date.

The rescue attempt has transfixed the region, a hilly, rural area long dependent on coal and one that suffered tragedy during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The 40 passengers and crew on Flight 93 died when it was taken over by hijackers and crashed near Shanksville, about 10 miles from the mine.

"This eight-county area is famous for its mines and its miners, and everyone knows someone in the mines, so it's really hit close," said Alex Zinovenko, 45, of Sipesville. "You figure something like this could happen. Can you be prepared? I don't think so. We're knocked around a bit by this."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.