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CNN Live At Daybreak

Most of Lucky Nine Miners Waking Up Home This Morning

Aired July 29, 2002 - 06:23   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: In Pennsylvania's coal country, the successful rescue behind them, most of the lucky nine miners waking up at home this morning. Government officials say there will be increased scrutiny of how mine permits are issued.

CNN's Elaine Quijano joins us live with an update from the scene -- good morning, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Anderson.

For the first time in four days, nine men finally got the chance to sleep in a warm, dry bed last night after enduring 77 hours trapped underground.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO (voice-over): One by one in a single unbelievable moment for each man, Harry Blaine Mayhugh and his eight fellow miners go their lives back early Sunday at Quecreek Mine rescue shaft number one. And Mayhugh's wife received not one, but two miracles. Her father was also down below.

LESLIE MAYHUGH, WIFE OF RESCUED MINER: I kept praying and I had good beliefs and I knew that he was going to get through. I knew I couldn't lose my dad and my husband. I just knew it, so it wasn't their day.

QUIJANO: The Quecreek Nine, as some now call them, began their ordeal last Wednesday night, about 240 feet underground. They inadvertently drilled too close to an abandoned mine filled with water, which came rushing in, trapping the men.

HARRY BLAINE MAYHUGH, RESCUED MINER: And then the boss said well, we've got one more try. He said the number one entry is higher so everybody let's go there and give that a shot, you know? And we got there and the water seemed like it stopped. And then for about a day and a half it stayed at that level. And then we didn't know what to think.

QUIJANO: That higher ground was where the men began their agonizing three day wait. Rescuers above worked frantically pumping warm air to the men through a six inch hole while drilling larger ones for their escape. All the while, the men huddled together for warmth in the cold, dark chamber and tried to remain hopeful.

BLAINE MAYHUGH: I think certain times maybe one guy got down and then the rest pulled together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: Now, at last word, three of the nine men were still in the hospital in fair to good condition. Meanwhile, investigators are now looking into how the accident happened as the cleanup gets under way.

We're live in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. I'm Elaine Quijano -- Anderson, back to you.

COOPER: Elaine, have we learned any more about what the miners knew about that abandoned mine that caused all this trouble?

QUIJANO: Well, apparently that old abandoned mine that they ran into was on their maps. However, they thought it was a lot farther away. There's a rule that any drilling that goes on in mines has to take place a couple hundred feet away from those old abandoned mines to obviously prevent accidents like this one. The map that they had been using showed that they thought that it was so far away that they were not in any danger. Obviously, that turned out not to be the case. So they're going to look into all of that and sort through how this accident happened -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Elaine Quijano, thanks very much for joining us.

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