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CNN Live At Daybreak

Nine Miners Trapped in Pennsylvania

Aired July 25, 2002 - 06:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: As we told you about earlier this morning, we have been following the story of nine Pennsylvania miners, who are trapped after a cave-in in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Reporter Amy Mearkle from CNN affiliate WTAJ has a live update for us from outside the mine.

Good morning -- Amy.

AMY MEARKLE, CNN AFFILIATE WTAJ REPORTER: Good morning, Anderson.

Again, as you just said, tragedy has seemed to hit here in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Nine men, all miners for the same company, are trapped in a flooded coal mine right now.

Now, this took place about 10:30 last night is when it all happened. Wednesday night, two groups of miners, there were nine men in each group, they were working in the Quecreek Mine, that's located in Lincoln Township, Somerset County. A group of men who were in the mine, the first group of men, hit an old mine that had been filled with water.

Now, officials from the company say that that flooded mine, that older mine, was not on their current maps.

Nine miners were able to escape, because the first group of men warned them about the rushing water coming into the mine. On foot, those nine men ran about a mile-and-a-half to get out to safety, but as we told you, nine others are still trapped at this time.

Now, a spokesman for the Black Wolf Mining Company, the company that owns this particular mine, says that the ground, the mine is at least 335 to 400 feet under the ground.

Now, rescue efforts have been going on all night long. They have brought in various crews from all around Pennsylvania. Neighboring Indiana County actually has a mine rescue crew that was on the scene and helping. They have a number of sites set up. They are actually drilling into the mine. They also have some pump sites set up trying to relieve the pressure of the water that's going in or that is in the mine at this time.

And the spokesman for the company says at this point, they have had no contact with the miners who are trapped underneath. And what they are doing is working diligently. He says he has professionals both trapped in the mine and above working, and at this time, they are drilling, pumping and praying.

Reporting live for you from Somerset County for CNN, I am Amy Mearkle.

COOPER: Amy, I just want to ask you one or two questions. We had an earlier report, which said that we don't know exactly the condition of these miners, but that the area that they are in is some 12 feet wide and only about 36 inches in height. Is that what you are hearing as well?

MEARKLE: Yes. The spokesman for the Black Wolf Mining Company said that it is about 12 feet by about 40 inches high, or he says, or it's high as the coal can go. But he said this particular mine, the maps that they had out and talking to the other miners that were able to get out, they are thinking that these men are trapped in a space about 12 foot by 40 inches high.

COOPER: And any sense of how long this drilling is going to go on? Before I understand -- I think you said they had drilled about 200 feet so far.

MEARKLE: Yes, that's -- I mean, they have to go down. He says that this -- he wasn't sure of the specifics for this particular mine, but he says it's at least 335 to 400 feet under the ground. So as you can imagine, that's a lot of digging that they do need to do.

And as you also can imagine, I mean, the flooding waters that keep coming in as they have been drilling down keep hampering their efforts. So that's why they have been trying to bring in a lot of pump crews from around the area to try to pump the water pressure off at different portions of the mine or at different areas near the mine, because what these miners were doing was mining parallel to this old mine site. So that's what they are in there now doing is trying to go down parallel to where these men are and get them out just as soon as they possibly can.

COOPER: It is just a nightmare. Thank you very much for joining us with that update this morning. We will, obviously be following this story as it develops throughout the morning and throughout the day here at CNN.

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