Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Miners in Surprisingly Good Condition after Ordeal

Aired July 29, 2002 - 12:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, we want to get more now on that miraculous rescue of those nine miners, and the probe into that incident.
Our Bill Hemmer is live from Somerset, Pennsylvania with the latest from there. Great to see you, Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra, great to see you and good afternoon. Listen, we are just about an hour away, what we anticipate two, maybe three of these miners will meet with reporters. They are the three that remain hospitalized today. And Kyra, if you think about this, doctors have told us, ever since the nine came out of that mine early on Sunday morning, they are absolutely confounded about how good the physical condition, and the physical shape of these miners really turned out to be.

If you think about it, six were literally treated and released yesterday. No food, no water, three and a half days at 240 feet. It is really a staggering thing to think about. Of the three still in the hospital, Kyra, the doctors say they are in good condition, they are adjusting well, and resting a whole lot. They applaud the smart decisions they say the men made while awaiting that rescue efforts, and right now, they are trying to give them a little bit of privacy. The doctors are also so impressed about how strong the will of these nine men was to survive. Here is one of the doctors from earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. RUSSELL DUMIRE, CONEMAUGH MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: To see these guys, who had to crawl into that cage by themselves, shut that huge steel door, come up 250 feet and then come out on their own power, that to me is just a testament to pure human will. I mean, as physicians, we can put things back together, and we can rearrange things the way that they were supposed to be, but we cannot heal the patients, that comes from inside, and these guys have the will to live, and they made our job extremely easy. I mean, they did the work. We just made the environment right for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Yes, well, listen the environment certainly was right. Two things we have talked about a lot, Kyra, but two things I think are worth repeating again. It was the water pump that helped to keep these guys alive, keeping the water above -- or under a certain level to make sure they could continue to breathe, and that 6-inch pipe, again, that went and punctured that mine shaft early on, pumping about 100 degree water -- air temperature, rather, pumping the air into there, keeping things warm so that the nine, when they did get cold, could warm up. You know those are two things that are very critical as we look back on this operation.

We are going to hear a lot more. The stories are absolutely amazing, and really, for this part of the country, if you go back to September 11, it should not be underscored, when United Airlines Flight 93 went down, Kyra, about ten miles east of our location, so many people around this area rushed to the scene, thinking they were going to pull people out alive, and they did not, but this time, boy, fingers crossed and thumbs-up, they did. All nine, indeed, are alive.

We are going to hear more about -- from the miners coming up here, and we should not overlook the fact that there will be an intensive investigation going forward about the maps that were used, and system that was in place, to make sure something like this does not happen again. A bit of local flavor for you, Kyra, special edition of the "Daily American," Somerset County's newspaper, "Nine for Nine" screams the headline with a couple of nice photographs below. Pittsburgh is about 55 miles from our location. The "Post Gazette" today saying, "Help, Help, Please Get Us Out," one of the miner's calls. And boy, they got them out, just in time too, early Sunday morning.

A lot more coming up next hour -- Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Bill, I have got to ask you this, because we both have done a lot of reporting in our years. What I want to know is what has kind of touched you the most -- I know you were very moved by the Mayhughs. Maybe we can talk about them a little bit. But this is an absolutely incredible story. Very rarely do we have such an awesome outcome.

HEMMER: Yes. Listen, the Pugh family is something that really sticks out in my head. Robert Pugh was one of the nine. I talked to his sister last night, Barbara, on the phone, and she said, Kyra, every year the Pugh family gets together for a family reunion. Nobody ever misses. And this year, it was scheduled for Saturday, this past Saturday, and all 40 members of the Pugh family sat outside the fire house up the road a short mile here from our location, and by end of the day, boy, they got their big payoff.

They say Robert Pugh did not go to sleep when he came out, did not go to sleep until the sun came up Sunday morning. He said he had not seen daylight in three and a half days, and he was not going to miss his opportunity to see it again.

You mentioned the other stories, and boy, they continue to come in. And you know, how can you not be touched by these stories of survival, because a lot of us, I think, to be quite frank with you, were somewhat pessimistic as to whether or not the success rate here was going to come out the way it did, nine for nine.

But the families in this area, say that they were optimistic the entire time, never lost hope that indeed the nine would come out alive. They say they have very strong faith, and that helped them hang in there, and I also asked them, I said, do you know -- do you think you know a little more about the mining industry that we don't know that led you to believe that you should be more optimistic? And they said there was probably a lot of that goes along with it too. But great stories, and a great ending for a change -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You talk about the firehouse down the road there. They weren't just hanging out and waiting, but from what I understand, Bill, they all had their Bibles, they were exchanging verses. I mean, talk about a spiritual time.

HEMMER: Yes. We talked with one of their local reporters last hour, and she stressed to me, Kyra, about the amazing strength on the religious side that many people in this part of Pennsylvania have and feel. And it is quite obvious when you talk to them, that faith gave them a lot of strength to get through this one. And I just -- I can't imagine the stories these guys are going tell. You know, if you listen to how they were all huddled together, how they tied a rope one by one by one in case they were to perish, the rescue workers eventually could locate them and find their bodies.

When you talk about the note writing that they underwent, to make sure they could leave a note behind to their family and friends, it is very touching, and they were very strong physically, but they were also very strong mentally when it came to making the right decisions, seeking higher ground, getting it, making sure each guy in the group stayed strong. When one guy got down, they would all get together with the other eight, and they would pick them back up again. Then if another guy got down, they would do the same process for him, and it's a great story. I know I have said it a thousand times, but it really brings a good, strong smile to a person who can come out here, after we go to so many scenes that end up, let's say, on the bad side of tragedy, but this one did not. Good for it.

PHILLIPS: Absolutely. Truly a testament to the strength of the human spirit.

HEMMER: Yes. That's right. Yes.

PHILLIPS: Bill Hemmer, thank you so much.

HEMMER: Sure. Yes.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com