Members of rescue party will return to site of successful rescue July 26 and 28
WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration team who took part in the successful rescue of nine coal miners 10 years ago this week at the Quecreek Mine near Somerset, Pa., will return to the rescue site on July 26 and July 28 to take part in commemoration activities.
On July 24, 2002, miners working underground inadvertently breached an adjoining abandoned mine, unleashing a torrent of water that trapped them for 77 hours. As the nation looked on, teams of government and company officials, engineers and drill rig operators worked for three days and nights to locate and ultimately rescue the miners one by one using a steel capsule that was lowered 240 feet beneath the earth’s surface.
| MSHA Officials | |
| Thursday, July 26 | |
| WHO: | Kevin Stricklin, administrator for coal John Urosek, mine emergency operations chief Jeff Kravitz, scientific development chief |
| Saturday, July 28 | |
| Joseph Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health Kevin Stricklin, administrator for coal |
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| WHEN/WHAT: | Thursday, July 26 Meet the rescuers / media availability – 10 a.m.-1 p.m. EDT |
| Saturday, July 28 Celebration ceremony – 11 a.m. EDT Ribbon-cutting ceremony for new visitors center – 1 p.m. EDT |
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| WHERE: | Quecreek Mine rescue site Haupt Road and Somerset Pike (state Route 985) Somerset, Pa. 15501 |
All events are open to the press. Media planning to attend should contact Amy Louviere in the Labor Department’s Office of Public Affairs using the contact information above.
