Rescue workers save trapped miners

Rescue workers have pulled out all nine men from the flooded, 240-foot-deep shaft where they had been trapped for three days.

The first miner was pulled out early Sunday morning and the rest were brought up one-by-one in roughly 15-minute intervals.

Crews struggled with two giant drills for more than 74 hours without any signs of life since Thursday.

"All nine are alive," Governor Mark Schweiker said. "And we believe that all nine are in pretty good shape."

Randy Fogle, 43 was the first pulled from the 26-inch wide hole. He had reported feeling chest pains while still in the mine, but officials at the hospital where he soon arrived said he was slightly hypothermic but otherwise well.

After more than 3 days of frantic drilling, a giant auger pierced the ceiling of 4-foot high chamber, allowing workers to drop a telephone line to the miners through a small air pipe.

As they emerged, the miners surprised medical personnel who had prepared to treat them for symptoms of hypothermia or the bends. Decompression chambers, ambulances and 18 helicopters were at the scene 55 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

In the end, however, it didn't appear that nearly so much medical attention would be required for the miners.