The 9 men trapped inside Quecreek mine for 77 hours were rescued. The mine miracle united not only this area but the entire nation just months after the September 11th terrorist attacks. The rescue was celebrated Saturday at the rescue site.
“I look at life differently every day is a blessing because we’ve got 20 more years than we ever planned to get. And that’s a big thing for me. At 20 more years of your life and you’re looking at death and you walk away from it, that a lot. That’s priceless.”
The living miners joined their rescuers and former Governor Mark Schweiker to recall the sobering events of the accident and the amazing rescue.
It was said that this was the first time that some survivors heard about what the rescue mission actually looked like from above.
“We were going to do whatever it took to get these guys out. And as I said during an interview in 2010, when the 33 men were trapped in Chile, the reporter asked me, What would you say if you could speak to the family members in Chile? And I said, Keep hope. And if you can’t keep hope, cling to faith because miracles still do happen.”
All proceeds of the anniversary event will go toward maintaining the site. The festivities continued yesterday during the Pirates Marlins game at PNC Park, where one of the miners threw out the first pitch.
