74 1/2 hours

A chronology of events in the mining accident near Somerset, Pa.:

Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 28, 2002

Wednesday

9 p.m. -- Nine miners become trapped 240 feet below ground inside the Quecreek mine after breaking into an adjacent, abandoned mine. The Quecreek mine is flooded with 50- to 60-million gallons of water.

Thursday

3:30 a.m. -- Rescue workers hear tapping from the area where miners are trapped.

11:30 a.m. -- Tapping heard again.

2:30 p.m. -- A drill rig large enough to bore a rescue shaft arrives from a West Virginia mine.

6 p.m. -- Crews begin drilling tunnel to reach miners.

Friday

2 a.m. -- Drill bit gets stuck in rock about 100 feet down and breaks.

11:10 a.m. -- Digging with new equipment begins on another shaft about 75 feet from the first.

4:45 p.m. -- Broken bit is removed from the first rescue tunnel.

8 p.m. -- Drilling resumes on first rescue shaft.

Saturday

3 p.m. -- Tunnel reaches depth of 224 feet, less than 20 feet from chamber where miners are trapped.

7:30 p.m. -- Gov. Mark Schweiker announces "We're on the verge."

8 p.m. -- Drilling in first rescue shaft stopped briefly at 227 feet to fix problem with compressed air drill.

10:20 p.m. -- Drill in first rescue shaft breaks through into mine chamber 240 feet underground; workers remove equipment used to pump compressed air into the chamber and begin to tap on pipes, listening for response.

10:50 p.m. -- A line of rescue workers lowers a telephone and green light into smaller shaft adjacent to drilling site.

11 p.m. -- Smiling rescue workers begin to hug and give thumbs-up signs.

11:35 p.m. -- Gov. Schweiker confirms all nine miners are alive.

Today

2:45 a.m. Ninth and final miner emerges from rescue shaf

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