Trapped deep below ground by poisonous gases, the Sago miners realised at least four of their air packs did not work and were forced to share the devices as they desperately pounded away with a sledgehammer in hopes of letting rescuers know where to find them.

Two and a half months after an explosion trapped and killed 12 men inside the Sago Mine in Tallmansville, Virginia, their colleagues headed back underground today and restarted the coal mining operation once again.