Miners in good condition, say doctors

Nine miners rescued from a mine in Pennsylvania were in surprisingly good condition after their three-day ordeal, doctors said.

"Their condition is remarkable given the situation they were in," said Dr Russell Dumire, a trauma surgeon at Comemaugh Memorial Medical Centre in Johnstown, where six of the miners are in hospital.

The miners spent their 77-hour ordeal immersed in 3-4 feet of water, struggling to keep warm.

"When one would get cold the other eight would huddle around the person and warm that person, and when another person got cold the favour was returned," Dumire said.

The miners also huddled around a pipe funnelling down warm air.

The nine, who sustained minor hypothermia but showed no evidence of decompression sickness, "decided early on they were either going to live or die as a group," he said.

Three of the miners were at Somerset Hospital in satisfactory condition, a spokesman said.

When they were contacted, one of the miners said, "What took you guys so long?" according to a rescuer.

Determined crews with no signs of life to encourage them since Thursday bored through the ceiling of the 4ft (1.2m) high chamber.

The breakthrough allowed workers to drop a telephone line to the miners 240ft (72m) below and confirm they were alive.