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CNN Live At Daybreak

Coal Miners Trapped in Mine 55 Miles Southeast of Pittsburgh

Aired July 26, 2002 - 05:02   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 CORRESPONDENT: We get more now on those nine coal miners trapped in a mine 55 miles southeast of Pittsburgh near Somerset. Frantic rescue efforts are going on at this hour.

Let's get details now from Elaine Quijano. She joins us by phone from Somerset -- Elaine, what can you tell us?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, I'm standing here at the media staging area just a few miles away down the road from the flooded mine where rescuers are working feverishly to try to reach those nine men who have been trapped now for almost a day and a half. With a giant three foot wide drill brought in from West Virginia, these crews have been working relentlessly through the night, pushing closer to an underground air pocket where they believe those coal miners may still be alive.

The nine men, ages 30 through 55, became trapped more than 200 feet down Wednesday night after they accidentally drilled too close to an abandoned mine filled with millions of gallons of water. More than a day later, the main concerns now, hypothermia from air and water temperatures estimated at 55 degrees.

Rescuers continue to pump some fresh air down into the mine to maintain the air pocket there and once they reach the miners, authorities plan to use a sophisticated basket to raise the men to the surface. But, Anderson, no definitive timetable on when that might happen. The next official media briefing is not scheduled to take place here for another three hours -- Anderson.

COOPER: Elaine, when was the last time anyone had communication with these miners? I know no one has actually been able to talk, but has there been any sort of soundings coming from them?

QUIJANO: Well, the last time they say that they heard tapping was around 11 yesterday morning. Now, keep in mind that there's a great deal of activity going on, both the drilling and the other heavy equipment that's on site so they've not been able to really stop and listen. And they say that's not necessarily an indication one way or the other whether or not those miners may still be alive.

But it was obviously an encouraging sign yesterday because they heard them not once, not twice, but three times. The last time, as I said, being 11 o'clock yesterday. But since then we have had no reports of any other kind of tapping noises coming from that area -- Anderson.

COOPER: Now, yesterday morning around this time we heard that they were all, they had already drilled down about 200 feet. You say they're still drilling. Is this a different kind of drill they're using now or...

QUIJANO: Right. Exactly. What they're doing, Anderson, that drilling you were talking about from yesterday was actually just to get the air pocket there maintained. What they're trying to do is expand that air pocket really to serve two purposes, obviously to give them an air supply, but also to keep more of that water from rushing into that air bubble, that air pocket. And that is the drilling you're talking about from yesterday.

That was a smaller hole, about six inches. This is a much bigger hole. You know, they're talking about three foot wide to try and get this basket lowered into that area and then bring those men safely up. But it's going to be a delicate operation because not only do they have to navigate those hundreds of feet down into that area, but then they're also going to have to worry about not disrupting any kind of balance or equilibrium with the water and air pressure there so that the other miners who are waiting to be rescued are not then put into further danger.

So it's a slow going operation. The best that they can tell us here, some officials at the Department of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, is that they are making progress, but really they don't have any kind of clear indication as to when exactly they may be breaking through to those miners -- Anderson.

COOPER: Right.

Elaine Quijano, thanks very much. We'll check back in with you a little bit later on in this hour.

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