Miners Emerge In Good Shape

Doctors in Pennsylvania said Sunday morning the conditions of nine coal miners who spent three days deep underground is remarkably well considering the ordeal they've been through.

Dr. Russell Dumire at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, says that besides dehydration and mild hypothermia, all nine miners were doing well emotionally and physically hours after their rescue early Sunday morning.

"When they arrived here they were all in surprisingly very good condition," Dumire said. "The care that they received during the entrapment extrication and transportation made our job very easy here.

"They all arrived in very good condition, they've all been reunited with their families, they're resting comfortably in their rooms right now, in good condition, improving."

Six of the miners were taken to the Johnstown hospital while the others were treated at Somerset Hospital near where they were trapped since Wednesday.

Dr. Dumire also said the six miners were starving when they got to the hospital, devouring donuts in a matter of minutes and then moving on to anything they could get their hands on, including soup and crackers.

Doctors say the miners worked together to survive their ordeal, including taking turns standing in the water and taking turns trying to keep each other warm.

"The crews on the surface worked expeditiously, getting the pipe down with the warm air probably was life saving for these individuals," Dumire said. "And the fact that these nine individuals decided very early on, upon talking to them, that they were either going to live or die as a group.

"They worked together from the time that they were trapped, helping each other.

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

"They kept their cool, when the hot air pipe came down, they huddle around that pipe for warmth, and they kept changing their positions, back to back, side to side, to keep all parts of their bodies warm.

Four of the miners at the Johnstown hospital were in good condition Sunday morning while two of them were only in fair condition, but they were both expected to be upgraded later Sunday.

"They look exceptionally well," Dumire said. "I mean, if you were to meet any of these guys on the street right now, you would not know that they were trapped in a cavern full of water for three days."