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CNN Live Today

Mining Rescue Efforts Restart

Aired July 26, 2002 - 12:02   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We are awaiting the start of a news conference in Pennsylvania, where rescue crews are battling against time to reach nine miners trapped in a flooded mine shaft. Rescuers have started on a second shaft now. Drilling on the first shaft ground to a half about 11 hours ago, when a drill bit broke, and while still at least 150 feet from the men is this drill. Rescuers have now started on a second shaft.

CNN's Brian Palmer joins us with the latest from the scene -- Brian.

BRIAN PALMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Kyra.

We are expecting the news conference to begin within minutes. We are going to be briefed most likely by the governor, the state agencies, who have been our main source of information, and they'll also joined by some representatives of the U.S. Navy, whose role we are probably going to learn about very, very soon.

As you said in your introduction. at this point, they have started drilling a second hole. That started about two hours ago, according to the Department of Environmental Protection. Because of the stalled progress on that main 30-inch hole, they had gotten about 100 feet or so into the ground, and the drill bit broke. That was about 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. in the very early hours of this morning. They are frantically trying to get that drill bit out through all sorts of methods. They are going to sink an armature down there and try and pull it out.

But in the meantime, they are starting that second hole in order to form some sort of escape or rescue shoot -- rescue shaft to get those miners out.

They have made great progress, they say, on getting the water out. The water level down about 17 feet, but as of now, still no definitive word on the condition of these miners, and no contact from them in about 24 hours -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Brian Palmer, we'll continue to check in with you as this -- rescue effort, rather, continues.

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