Mining story by jack .Cave in 3 deaths/

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Den034071
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Post by Den034071 » Sat. Mar. 04, 2023 10:53 am

Aug13 1963 .& am Dave Fellin Hank throne a Lou Bova entered there mine .Shortly the hoist operator got a signal topull up aload of coal .After emptying he sent the empty back down the slope .Suddenly the cable went slack .Terrible rumbling followed .Coal dust shot out of the mine .Rock fall rock fall .Walker the operatpr ran to a nearby manto getsome help .Two miners from that mine quickly concluded the cave wasmost likely extensive in length .The 3 miners were trapped .What to do .To drive another opening would take weeks .An idiot from theState suggested to Close The Mine And thenexcavate to retrieve the bodies .The affected families and the gathered miners protested .Were notgiving up .A older miner suggested getting a Drill Rig an try to contact the entomed .On the 17th a rig was arrived .Hour after hour the big rig hummed and hummed through solid rock inch by in.ch ,Hundreds of people were at the site hoping praying an comfotingThe miners families ,The driller On sunday midnight August 22 broke through to the mine .Slowly the driller removed the bit .A rescue volunteer wentto the open hole an hollered .YoSilence .Again he hollered Yo nothing .The third time he hollered louder Yo Yo .FaintlyA Voice Replied were Ok .Onlookers Cried LaughedAnd hugged the miners families .The rescue people asked about Lou Bova .0Not heard of for 6 days on the other side of falling rock .The bore hole was Six Inch bit enough to send down water and Hot Soup to the miners .On the midnite of the 26th a LaTurnedsturnedrger drill RigEased into position .The 60 ton rig stared the first of 3 attempsto reach the miners .MinuteTurned int hours then into days are we goona fail .But on Aug 26 the bit pierced the roof close to where the miners were .Imagine these 2 miners thinking Would The Vibration of The Monster Drill Rig cause a Further cave in and Bury Them .Well 20 more hours would go buy until Fellin And Throne the 2 miners were brought to the surface .Both the 2 men an wives were taken To Hazleton Hospital for care .Lou Bova .More drill attempts were tried Until sept 6 .But finally he was given u pI have been at Bovas Burial marker at the mine .
for dead ., .I have been there at the site a granite marker is there .It was summer when we visited a reverence fell on me .A soft breeze was blowing with a gentle hum or noise a small tune .I said a prayer for The burried miner Lou Bova and left .Story by jack

 
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theo
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Post by theo » Sat. Mar. 04, 2023 1:09 pm

Amazing! Sad one didnt make it, a miracle for the other
2 Thanks for sharing Jack :yes:

 
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Hambden Bob
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Post by Hambden Bob » Sat. Mar. 04, 2023 1:37 pm

Jack,You Really Are "The Master Storyteller" Here..!! This one's tragic as Hell... Thanx for bringing "How It Was,How It Went Down" to Us All... You and "Trixie Da' Coal Dog" Take Good Care..!!

 
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Post by k-2 » Sat. Mar. 04, 2023 3:19 pm

This brings back memories. I was involved in the tower city flood and collapse in 1977. Was trapped for several hours inside. 9 guys died, one trapped for 5 days inside. Two if the dead was younger than i. I was 20 and they were 18 yrs old. Took us about 30 days to retrieve the last body. That was the end of my 2 year deep mining career. I really dodged a bullet that day as i was normally scheduled to work in the worst affected area of the mine.
Last edited by k-2 on Sat. Mar. 04, 2023 4:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.


 
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davidmcbeth3
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Sat. Mar. 04, 2023 3:32 pm

k-2 wrote:
Sat. Mar. 04, 2023 3:19 pm
This brings back memories. I was involved in the tower city flood and collapse in 1977. Was trapped for several hours inside. 9 guys died, one trapped for 5 days inside. Two if the dead was younger than i at 18 yrs old. Took us about 30 days to retrieve the past body. That was the end of my 2 year deep mining career. I really dodged a bullet that day as i was normally scheduled to work in the worst affected area of the mine.
Did you get trapped, K-2 ? Or you had a near-miss and said "F-this s--t".

We should have a thread talking about all our near-misses. Should make some good reading.

 
k-2
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Post by k-2 » Sat. Mar. 04, 2023 4:03 pm

davidmcbeth3 wrote:
Sat. Mar. 04, 2023 3:32 pm
Did you get trapped, K-2 ? Or you had a near-miss and said "F-this s--t".

We should have a thread talking about all our near-misses. Should make some good reading.
I was trapped for several hours along with a few dozen other until the main tunnel was cleared of debris. Most of the flood water was gone though which was the real danger. At the time we had no idea what happened or how long we were going to be trapped .

 
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davidmcbeth3
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Sat. Mar. 04, 2023 4:14 pm

Wow. That's crazy .. hope you suffered nothing afterwards.

Was it just bad luck or a failure of some sort ?

 
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Post by k-2 » Sat. Mar. 04, 2023 4:28 pm

davidmcbeth3 wrote:
Sat. Mar. 04, 2023 4:14 pm
Wow. That's crazy .. hope you suffered nothing afterwards.
Was it just bad luck or a failure of some sort ?
Failure of mine owners to adhere to safety procedures. They knew a water filled mine was just ahead of a gangway they were driving and wouldnt let the miners drill in all directions to find it ,basically to save money and labor costing many lives. The FBI investigated but no one ever paid the price for it.
Last edited by k-2 on Sat. Mar. 04, 2023 5:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.


 
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theo
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Post by theo » Sat. Mar. 04, 2023 4:47 pm

So sad, sounds to me that 9 guys paid the price for it,,RIP Not the company :no1:

 
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StokerDon
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Post by StokerDon » Sun. Mar. 05, 2023 8:56 am

Thanks for the great story Jack. A sad one but its serves as as a reminder of what it takes to have our modern way of life.

-Don

 
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warminmn
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Post by warminmn » Sun. Mar. 05, 2023 11:14 am

Thanks Jack and K-2 for the true stories.

 
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Post by freetown fred » Sun. Mar. 05, 2023 11:15 am

Jack, thanx for the tale my friend. Sad state of affairs!!! Lotsa safety situations back when. Men & boys both knew the dangers but also needed to feed their families!!! Prayers for past & present miners. Keep em comin Jack-- Thanx for the input K. :)

 
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Post by Hoytman » Sun. Mar. 05, 2023 12:00 pm

Another true story of the American coal miner. Thanks for sharing, Jack!!

I always appreciate your stories.

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