Miner weeps as he is reunited with family

A miner pulled to safety after three days trapped in a cramped shaft 240 feet underground wept today as he told of his relief at being reunited with his family.

Blaine Mayhugh was one of nine men said to be in ‘‘remarkably good health’’ following the dramatic rescue from the Quecreek mine in Pennsylvania.

The 29-year-old miner said one thought ran through his mind as he finally emerged after 77 hours stuck in the four foot high shaft: ‘‘Please just get me up out of here.’’

‘‘God and my wife and my kids, they were the only things that got me through.’’

The father of two said when he went to work on Wednesday it had been the first time ever he had forgotten to kiss his wife goodbye.

‘‘It had to be that day,’’ he told reporters at an emotional news conference with his wife beside him.

Mr Mayhugh, whose father-in-law Thomas Foy was trapped with him, added the group’s survival was a team effort.

‘‘Maybe one guy got down and then the rest pulled together, and then that guy would get back up. Then someone else would get a little weaker and we’d do it again.’’

Their ordeal came to an end on Saturday night when a drilling crew punched a hole into the air pocket where the men had been stranded since Thursday morning.

The miners had accidentally drilled into an abandoned flooded mine, releasing 50 million gallons of water into their own shaft and triggering a cave-in.

Until their rescue the group had been clueless about what was happening above ground, Mr Mayhugh said.

‘‘We thought maybe they couldn’t find us, maybe their equipment broke down. We had no idea what was going on. I had no idea how many people were involved.’’

Rescuers said the miners joked ‘‘what took you guys so long?’’ when the drill for an escape shaft finally broke through.

The men were then winched one by one to the surface in a metal cage where they were greeted by cheers from the crowd of workers who had toiled round the clock to bring them to safety.

The final miner, Mark Popernack, 41, was wet, exhausted and had his face blackened with coal dust, but managed to give his rescuers a thumbs-up as he emerged.

They were then taken for an emotional reunion with family members at a local hospital.

‘‘There were tears of joy flowing everywhere at the time, both from the miners and the family,’’ said trauma surgeon Russell Dumire of Memorial Medical Centre in Johnstown.

The men 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,’’ Dr Dumire said.

Medics had prepared to treat them for symptoms of hypothermia or the bends, caused by sudden changes in pressure. Decompression chambers, ambulances and 18 helicopters were at the scene 55 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

But Dr Dumire said: ‘‘If you were to see any of these guys on the street right now, you would not know they were trapped in a cavern full of water for three days.

‘‘They’re all quite calm, cool and collected, and they all want to get on with things.’’

Before Saturday night, rescue workers last heard from the miners at noon on Thursday, when they tapped on an air pipe.

Noise and vibration caused by the heavy rescue equipment drowned out the later attempts at communication from the men.

The rescue efforts were twice delayed for up to nine hours when the giant drill used to dig the escape shaft broke down.

‘‘Wow. Wow. Wow,’’ said rescue worker Lou Lepley when he discovered they had survived. ‘‘It’s just unbelievable. I have no words.’’

John Weir, a spokesman for Black Wolf Coal Company, the mine’s owner, said: ‘‘This is a miracle.’’