The Quecreek mine rescue drama began to unfold around 9 p.m. July 24, 2002, when a crew working with outdated mine maps mistakenly bored through the walls of the abandoned Saxman mine, unleashing 72 million gallons of icy water.

The miners sent an alarm to a second crew, which allowed them to flee the rushing waters. Then, after finding all exits blocked by rising water, they headed for high ground and sheltered in the darkness on a spit of rock for 77 hours. Meanwhile state, federal and industry experts labored 240 feet above the mine shaft in a pasture on Bill Arnold’s farm. They were desperate first to drill a 6-inch hole to force air into the frigid mine and finally to bore a hole that would accommodate a rescue capsule that slowly lifted each man, one by one, to safety early July 28.

The rescue, broadcast around the world, was greeted by cheers from the miners’ families and a nation still reeling from the 9/11 attacks a year earlier.

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