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CNN Sunday Morning
Interview With Mark Popernack
Aired July 27, 2003 - 08:14 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.
CHUCK ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: A bronze memorial marks a moment in history one year ago today. That's when rescuers first punched a hole into the flooded Quecreek mine in southwestern Pennsylvania and began the delicate operation that would free nine miners trapped for 77 desperate hours. That statue unveiled just yesterday at a memorial ceremony. It's depicting a miner reading a book. It represents a love of learning passed on from early miners who emigrated from Eastern Europe to their children.
You remember those images. The nation held its breath as rescuers worked around the clock to rescue those miners, trapped more than 200 feet underground. The former governor called the rescue side hallowed ground. It's been a long year for the men known as the Quecreek nine. Mark Popernack is one of the rescued miners. He joins us on the phone from Somerset, Pennsylvania. Mark, good morning. How's it going?
MARK POPERNACK, RESCUED MINER: It's going real good. How are you doing?
ROBERTS: You still live with these images in your mind or have you pretty well put it behind you, do you think?
POPERNACK: It's pretty much been put behind me. I've moved on and I'm just enjoying life right now.
ROBERTS: What happened that night? Did you -- the mine was flooded. How did it happen?
POPERNACK: It was just a normal day like any other day. Everybody's just going about our business. I was running the machine that actually cut into the Saxmen (ph) mine. About 10 until 9:00, all of a sudden, a big rush of water come over top of our machine and continued to fill up our mine very, very rapidly.
ROBERTS: And you were down there for how long?
POPERNACK: Actually, about 86 hours. We were trapped for 77 hours, but if you include all the other -- the before and the after, it was right around 86 hours. I was in there the longest, because I was the last one brought to the surface.
ROBERTS: Did everybody write farewell notes to their families?
POPERNACK: Yes, all of us.
ROBERTS: Everyone?
POPERNACK: Yes.
ROBERTS: What was the first inkling you had that you'd be rescued? What was the first sound or indication?
POPERNACK: Well, initially, right around five or six hours after the breakthrough, they got a six-inch air shaft to us and started pumping us fresh air because we were lacking oxygen. And that was the first sign that we'd be rescued, but the water come up on us so quickly, by around 10 hours after the breakthrough, the water had already filled the entire mine up and was right up on us.
ROBERTS: You guys still communicate with the rescuers at all?
POPERNACK: We couldn't, because the water rose up into our section where we were at. It went over the top of the air shaft that they had put down to us, and we couldn't get to the pipe.
ROBERTS: Do you communicate with the rescuers today, one year on? Are you still in touch with them?
POPERNACK: There were so many of them. I mean, we see, you know, I see some of them here, I see some of them there. I've seen quite a few over the weekend. And can't be more grateful for them.
ROBERTS: What changed your mind about not going back down into the mine?
POPERNACK: Probably my wife and kids. I'd have probably went back, but they didn't think that was a very good idea so I went along with their wishes, more or less.
ROBERTS: What do you think of the lawsuit some of the miners are filing, claiming negligence on the part of the company?
POPERNACK: I'm not involved with it. I just don't believe that's what needs to be done, but I respect what they're doing and they're doing what they believe is right, I guess.
ROBERTS: Everybody's got to do that, I guess. Mark, you've adjusted very well, and we really appreciate your time. Congratulations. And you've -- you're getting on with your life and you're an inspiration to an awful lot of people. Thanks very much.
POPERNACK: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 27, 2003 - 08:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHUCK ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: A bronze memorial marks a moment in history one year ago today. That's when rescuers first punched a hole into the flooded Quecreek mine in southwestern Pennsylvania and began the delicate operation that would free nine miners trapped for 77 desperate hours. That statue unveiled just yesterday at a memorial ceremony. It's depicting a miner reading a book. It represents a love of learning passed on from early miners who emigrated from Eastern Europe to their children.
You remember those images. The nation held its breath as rescuers worked around the clock to rescue those miners, trapped more than 200 feet underground. The former governor called the rescue side hallowed ground. It's been a long year for the men known as the Quecreek nine. Mark Popernack is one of the rescued miners. He joins us on the phone from Somerset, Pennsylvania. Mark, good morning. How's it going?
MARK POPERNACK, RESCUED MINER: It's going real good. How are you doing?
ROBERTS: You still live with these images in your mind or have you pretty well put it behind you, do you think?
POPERNACK: It's pretty much been put behind me. I've moved on and I'm just enjoying life right now.
ROBERTS: What happened that night? Did you -- the mine was flooded. How did it happen?
POPERNACK: It was just a normal day like any other day. Everybody's just going about our business. I was running the machine that actually cut into the Saxmen (ph) mine. About 10 until 9:00, all of a sudden, a big rush of water come over top of our machine and continued to fill up our mine very, very rapidly.
ROBERTS: And you were down there for how long?
POPERNACK: Actually, about 86 hours. We were trapped for 77 hours, but if you include all the other -- the before and the after, it was right around 86 hours. I was in there the longest, because I was the last one brought to the surface.
ROBERTS: Did everybody write farewell notes to their families?
POPERNACK: Yes, all of us.
ROBERTS: Everyone?
POPERNACK: Yes.
ROBERTS: What was the first inkling you had that you'd be rescued? What was the first sound or indication?
POPERNACK: Well, initially, right around five or six hours after the breakthrough, they got a six-inch air shaft to us and started pumping us fresh air because we were lacking oxygen. And that was the first sign that we'd be rescued, but the water come up on us so quickly, by around 10 hours after the breakthrough, the water had already filled the entire mine up and was right up on us.
ROBERTS: You guys still communicate with the rescuers at all?
POPERNACK: We couldn't, because the water rose up into our section where we were at. It went over the top of the air shaft that they had put down to us, and we couldn't get to the pipe.
ROBERTS: Do you communicate with the rescuers today, one year on? Are you still in touch with them?
POPERNACK: There were so many of them. I mean, we see, you know, I see some of them here, I see some of them there. I've seen quite a few over the weekend. And can't be more grateful for them.
ROBERTS: What changed your mind about not going back down into the mine?
POPERNACK: Probably my wife and kids. I'd have probably went back, but they didn't think that was a very good idea so I went along with their wishes, more or less.
ROBERTS: What do you think of the lawsuit some of the miners are filing, claiming negligence on the part of the company?
POPERNACK: I'm not involved with it. I just don't believe that's what needs to be done, but I respect what they're doing and they're doing what they believe is right, I guess.
ROBERTS: Everybody's got to do that, I guess. Mark, you've adjusted very well, and we really appreciate your time. Congratulations. And you've -- you're getting on with your life and you're an inspiration to an awful lot of people. Thanks very much.
POPERNACK: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
