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Subscribe to RSSNineteen miners in Poland were rescued from a mine after being trapped underground by a small earthquake. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
POLKOWICE, Poland -- Nineteen miners were pulled alive and well from a copper mine in southern Poland on Wednesday after a small earthquake trapped them almost 2,000 feet below the surface late Tuesday.
It took seven hours to tunnel through collapsed rock to reach the miners, who were working at the Rudna copper mine in southern Poland when a small tremor trapped them there at 10:09 p.m. local time (5:09 p.m. ET) on Tuesday.
Agencja Gazeta / Reuters
Families react to the news Wednesday that 19 miners were rescued after a small earthquake trapped them some 2,000 feet below the surface at the Rudna copper mine in southern Poland.
Two were treated for minor injuries, while the others, shaken up and covered with grime after a grueling night, were on their way home.
Families of the miners, who gathered near the site, cheered when the mine's operator, KGHM, announced that all 19 were alive and were slowly being taken out through a hole dug by the rescuers.
"This was the biggest accident in KGHM history," chief executive Herbert Wirth told Reuters. "Never in our history has it happened that 19 miners were trapped with no contact."
The Rudna mine is about 250 miles southwest of the Polish capital, Warsaw.
Kacper Pempel / Reuters, file
KGHM Polkowice-Sieroszowice copper ore mine is seen in Polkowice in this July 29, 2011, file photo. Nineteen miners were trapped there Tuesday night after an earthquake caused a collapse. All were saved.
After the quake on Tuesday, workers on the surface lost contact for several hours with the trapped miners because communication lines into the shafts had been severed.
The mine is in the Silesia region, near Poland's borders with Germany and the Czech Republic. It has been in operation since 1974. State-controlled KGHM is Europe's second-biggest copper producer.
Poland has large numbers of mines, mostly in the heavily industrialized Silesia region. In 2006, a gas explosion at a coal mine in the region killed 23 miners.
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I just cannot imagine spending one's working day underground. You couldn't pay me enough to do such work! I would rather spend my entire career at Walmart. Miners deserve every possible perk and hefty pay to do such difficult, dangerous and vital work.
Miners rescued....no minor miracle...
my prayers last night worked.
More earthquakes coming up but glad they made it
There was a time when children were often used to get to the narrow veins and coal mining provided the major source of work for many European countries families.The skies were darkened, unhealthy and many a family would lose loved ones to mine collapses.But modern technology, including lighting, better ventilation,safety protocols has changed all that, and child labor laws. Today's good news really does reflect how far we have come from such dismal days.How wonderful todays men have such a better chance with emergency backup plans to survive the inherent dangers.China holds the record for the worst mining disasters in the world, while continuing to have regular disasters due to their poor safety standards.Kudos to those who worked so hard to free their friends.
If it wasn't for these workers (American's) forming a Union they would be doing it for peanuts living in company homes, shopping at company stores and seeing company doctors. I can only hope and pray Russian miners get treated as good as ours do now. I'm not a miner nor are there miners in my family but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate what the do for me every day. Just as the rest of use deserve what we make they deserve more. It is the deadliest job on or in the earth. It's sad it took Unions to make sure they get what they need. Shame on those of you that speak badly of Unions, if it wasn't for them only the rich would be driving new cars and from the looks of our wages and our inability to bond together that might happen again in the near future. Peons need to pull your heads out of the sand and pay attention to what is happening to this country/world. It's going to be your fault if this country continues to fall apart. One way we can keep things going is to stop people from under cutting our prices/wages. I think you all know where I'm going with this. If it wasn't for Unions in the coal industry it would be over run with undocumented workers just like the rest of our jobs. Yes even lawyers are working here and illegal. Next they will be your judge and your mayor possibly your Governor or even your President. At the rate we are going it might happen in 20 years or less. Join together and stop it before it's too late! Oh ya, thank God the miners in Russia are safe!
Glad they were all saved. Good happy story for once.
the down side: company lost money and rescue will cost the buyer extra and insurance will go up...
Kudos to the rescuers! Job well done, indeed!
good job....a happy ending...
Aftert 32 years working under ground let me tell you this. Mining is a way of life and I would spend my time under ground before I would work in Wally World. Every man and woman working in the mines in the USA are highly skilled and highly trained. And for the most part the rest of the world is trainning their miners to work more safely/ These things happen daily and a miner knows this, its all part of doing what we love. And I am very happy all got out in fine shape. Mine rescue is a major part of mining, and these men and women lay their lives onthe line every time they go underground after a desister, yep, they are heros.
As long as a mining company has huge investments in safety and rescue I can appreciate that there are people willing to work under such extreme conditions. Many people do not understand how much their lives depend on the people willing to be miners.
I Love HAPPY ENDINGS!
God bless those rescuers! Their dedication and diligence (and very hard work) made a miracle happen. The miners who do this dangerous job every day deserve the utmost respect. They are our heroes and not these rock stars that people idolize.
Thankful that they were rescued. What a relief for them and their loved ones.
But couldn't recover a man who fell into a 60 ft sink hole in Florida. They just covered him up.
Steve, the two incidents are entirely unrelated. The guy in Florida probably died shortly after falling into the sinkhole - probably buried as surrounding dirt caved in around him.
Great job to see those men are alive. I hope in the future, safety for miners will be improved in that region to protect miners. Thank God for that rescue!!!
The Polish Parliament has now begun to enact a law banning earthquakes. They need that coal!
BTB
It was a copper mine.
Hardy boys, those Polish miners. Good to see them all make it out alive.
Great to know everyone is ok. Kudos off to REAL MEN doing REAL WORK so the rest of us softies can enjoy cheaper fuel.
my job doesn't seem so bad now
Thank God and the people who got them out. This good news brought tears to my eyes.
So glad to hear of the rescue...glad it was possible! I'm in FL we just had a sink hole open up in a man's bedroom, while he was in bed sleeping, and he went down..with his bedroom floor.....rescue wasn't an option until the earth in area was known to be secure and it wasn't...there had to be a lot of fill put in etc by then it was determined it was too late and dangerous to try a rescue...God rest his soul...and thank you Father for saving these men when it was possible.
Why should I be thinking of anyone outside of these United States, when we had people stuck underground they did not care???????
Amazing story!