Rescue crews freed 17 miners in upstate New York Thursday morning after they spent hours trapped at least 800 feet underground in a salt mine, officials said.
The first four of the Cargill Salt miners emerged to the surface in a basket around 7 a.m., about eight hours after they were stranded, police said. The rest were rescued from the salt mine over the next two hours. No injuries were immediately reported.
An elevator inside the Cargill Salt Mine stopped working after 11 p.m. Wednesday, leaving the team of workers stuck between 800 and 900 feet below the ground, Tompkins County Emergency Management officials told the Daily News.
Emergency crews sent the trapped workers heat packs and blankets as they waited for the rescue crane to arrive on the scene.
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SOURCE: NY Daily News, Meg Wagner
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