Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
A Look Inside an Abandoned Mine
Aired July 30, 2002 - 08:39 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: As we've been reporting, the last one of the nine miners due to be released later today from the hospital. That is certainly good news again there. Meanwhile, more details emerging about the ordeal, 24 stories beneath the earth's surface.
Earlier today, Jeff Flock visited an abandoned mine not unlike the one that almost became a tomb for nine men. Here is a little of that tour with Jeff Flock again now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELVIN "JAKE" MILLER, RETIRED MINER: It is four feet high. You notice, if you can kneel down like this, I'm 6 foot tall, I can't straighten my head up because it hits the roof.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: this is what they had been up against, right?
MILLER: The kind of conditions they were in down there the same as this, 4 feet high.
FLOCK: Obviously, were in water, very damp conditions. What do you do when you're like that?
MILLER: Every worker in a coal mine -- this is always wet, damp and dirty, and if you get a break and you want to sit down, you go sit down there and you'll get your butt wet. So a lot of them named this hammer a third leg, so you go like this with it. Now you sit on it like that.
The upholstery is not very good on your butt, but at least it keeps it dry and you're up out of the water.
FLOCK: Reporter: I hear you. If I can see past you. Johnny, can you get past him? We trained some light back there. We have a heck of a lot more light than they had down there. And we can see what it looks like. Again, this is about the same width, and you have got timbers up in here, which they didn't have. This is an old mine, and that's the way you used to do it with these timbers, correct?
MILLER: Yes. The mines now today, technology, they put bolts in the roof to hold the roof up. They don't have these timbers in here no more. FLOCK: Got you. And in terms of what these guys are going through, Glenn, I got to ask you, this very confined situation, you talked about not really freaking out about anything down here, but that's what they did, correct?
GLENN KERR, SCHOOL TEACHER: Well, I imagine anybody would be a little apprehensive if the water was that high in there. One thing you got to remember, in the mines, if you get excited, you're going to do something stupid and get yourself killed, so you have to maintain your composure as much as you can.
FLOCK: That's what they didn't do. I want to do one thing and show our viewers what it is like. And go ahead and kick our camera lights off, because we brought some additional light backs down in here, and I just want to give them a real sense of what these guys were looking like. Is it possible for you to turn one of your cap lights off, maybe? I don't know, Glenn, if you can. We have the one light.
MILLER: When the guys were in there, this is all the light they had. This thing on my helmet, is shines pretty good. You shine around, it shines pretty good. This here other thing is what they call a methane proof flame safety light. It checks for methane gas and black (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
FLOCK: Of course, they wouldn't have had that, because that would have been knocked over by the flood, right?
MILLER: A boss or an operator, this is on his belt, this is part of his gear. He carries this wherever he goes. He always has it on its belt.
FLOCK: One more time, the lights on if you would, guys, because I want to look at the sides. I'm looking at coal here is that, correct?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
FLOCK: This is just -- whoa, I got more than I need here, don't I? This is the coal seam in here. Why would this have been left here?
MILLER: Yes, that is the coal seam there. That there is what they call a block of coal or a stump or a pillar. That stump there...
FLOCK: Holds up the ceiling.
MILLER: It's about a 75-foot square and holds up the rock above you.
FLOCK: Jake, Glenn, I appreciate it. I very, very much appreciate this tour, again, 1,000 feet in, about 500 feet down. This is something like they were up against. Of course, we can go out pretty easy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Jeff Flock, thanks again.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
