The nine rescued Pennsylvania miners will be paid overtime for the three days they spent trapped 240ft underground, it emerged today.

A state commission is to examine mine safety and recommend changes to prevent accidents like the one that trapped nine men in a flooded coal mine for more than three days.

There was one thought that kept returning to Blaine Mayhugh during the three days he was trapped 240ft underground in a flooded mine: He did not kiss his wife goodbye before he left for work.

Nine coal miners were trapped in a flooded shaft in Pennsylvania today after they apparently ruptured a nearby abandoned mine that was filled with water.