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CNN Live At Daybreak
Rescue Efforts Continuing Nonstop to Save Miners
Aired July 26, 2002 - 06:03 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 ANCHOR: We begin this morning in southwestern Pennsylvania, where a desperate attempt is under way to save nine miners trapped in a flooded coal mine. As the threat of hypothermia grows, crews are now racing to drill a hole deep enough to reach the men in time.
CNN's Elaine Quijano joins us from Somerset with the latest -- Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Anderson.
Throughout the night, rescue crews here in Somerset County have been continuing to bore that hole hundreds of feet down. They are determined to reach those nine men still trapped. They have been trapped for almost a day-and-a-half now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): With a giant three-foot-wide drill brought in from West Virginia, crews worked relentlessly, pushing closer to an underground air pocket, where they believe nine coal miners may still be alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard on everybody, it's tough, but you've got to put those feelings back and you've got to go ahead with what you know you've got to do. And we're going to do it, and we're going to succeed.
QUIJANO: 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.
DAVID HESS, SECRETARY OF PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: For some reason, and we are -- we are going to investigate this after the rescue effort is over, for some reason, the old maps were inaccurate or whatever for this particular area, and they broke through.
QUIJANO: More than a day later, the main concerns now: hypothermia from air and water temperatures estimated at 55 degrees. Rescuers continue to pump compressed air down into the mine to maintain the air pocket there. Once they reach the miners, authorities plan to use a special basket to raise the men to the surface.
HESS: It's very difficult to say what the chances are. Obviously, we hope for the best, but we also have to be prepared, unfortunately, for the worst, and we want to make sure the families understand that and everybody else understand that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: Now, last night, Pennsylvania's governor, Mark Schweiker, said that rescuers could reach those trapped men by early this morning. However, the rescuers themselves have said all along they don't have a definitive timetable, because they are just not sure what kind of soil or rock conditions they will encounter.
We're live in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, I am Elaine Quijano.
Anderson -- back to you.
COOPER: Elaine, let me just ask you. I saw a graphic earlier. I don't know if we have it. But basically, how far is where the area they are drilling, how far is that from where the miners are believed to be?
QUIJANO: Well, it's directly overhead, from what I understand. The way that this -- I don't know what the graphic is that you are looking at, but...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Well, we actually just...
QUIJANO: ... taken place.
COOPER: I'm sorry, we just up the graphic. And let me just tell you what it says.
QUIJANO: OK.
COOPER: And you can tell me.
QUIJANO: OK.
COOPER: It basically says that the drill is going down about 200 feet.
QUIJANO: Sure.
COOPER: And then it seems to indicate that it's approximately one mile from where the drill is to where the miners are trapped. Does that jive with what you are hearing on the ground there?
QUIJANO: No. Actually what you are probably referring to, they are one mile from the entrance of the mine. They believe that these miners actually went in about a mile from that entrance.
COOPER: OK. QUIJANO: So that's that mile figure that you are hearing about. But 200 feet down is the distance, obviously, vertically that they have to drill through to get to those miners.
And actually, I'm not sure if you saw that graphic, there was a graphic that the Department of Environmental Protection had put out that showed sort of why they believe that there is an air pocket there. Their thinking is that these miners would have gone to an area within the mine that is a little bit elevated, and that would have created an air bubble.
How do they know that? Well, they drilled about a 6-inch hole yesterday expecting that they would hit water when, in fact, they hit air, which is a good indication to them. They immediately began to force compressed air down into that area in the hopes of not only maintaining that air bubble, but also expanding it. And the purpose for that would be both to allow them to continue to pump in some oxygen for those miners to breathe, but also to keep more water from rushing in.
But what you are talking about there, that mile figure, that is actually the distance they believe that these miners are from the entrance to the mine, not necessarily where this drill is being placed -- Anderson.
COOPER: OK. Thanks for clearing that up. Elaine Quijano, thanks very much for joining us. We'll obviously be following this story all day as it develops.
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