Rukhsana Ferdousi
Period #2
The Quecreek Mine Rescue
Nine men were trapped underground in a coal mine for over 77 hours from July 24 to 28, 2002. All nine of the men were rescued, but not without the help of their rescuers. This brave story of the trapped men and their rescuers is known as the Quecreek Mine story of Lincoln Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
The men were trapped in the mine 240' below the earth's surface. The mine was filling with water, and they were trapped in a space about four feet high. The men were sitting in the water. The mine was about 50 degrees and the water was even colder. The men had to sit very close together to keep warm. Because they were so far beneath the earth they had to be removed slowly or else they would suffer decompression sickness.
Many people were involved in the rescue.
English: A Expedition used by the in Millersville,...
Pennsylvania State Police
English: Map of Somerset County, Pennsylvania high...Each played a very important role in the combined effort to save the men. The Pennsylvania State Police provided security, Bob Long, an engineer technician for Civil Mining Environmental Engineering helped with GPS coordinates, Mine ventilation expert John Urosek, of the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety Health Administration was on site, Federal mining officials, National Guard helicopters flew, and hundreds of others worked to rescue the nine men.
Without the team effort of all the rescuers working round-the-clock the men would not have survived. The men and women who worked to rescue the minors were there day and night, non-stop to save the minor's lives. And, they did.
Sources: Wikipedia and http://9for9.org/rescue.asp