Nine coal miners trapped underground in a watery air bubble for more than three days were rescued Sunday morning and hospitalized in good condition following what officials called a miracle of precision and luck.
Ron Hileman’s last day underground as a coal miner was July 28, 2002. Being trapped 240 feet below the surface in Quecreek Mine for 77 hours with eight other miners was enough to make him retire. “That was my last day,” he said. Hileman, 69, of Gray, had spent almost
Brad Hillegass had operated a crane plenty of times but never with the lives of nine men in the balance. That changed July 24, 2002, when nine miners were trapped 240 feet underground at the Quecreek Mine in Somerset County and his job was to safely lift them to freedom
John Unger promised his wife that if something bad ever happened on his job in the coal mine, he’d find a way to survive. For 29 years, he kept that promise, always returning to the rural, century-old Somerset County home where they raised a family and tended to their cattle.