Miners paid overtime for days spent trapped
The nine rescued Pennsylvania miners will be paid overtime for the three days they spent trapped 240ft underground, it emerged today.
Dave Rebuck, president of Black Wolf Coal Company which runs the Quecreek Mine, said they would be rewarded for their time stranded in the flooded shaft.
“They wanted pay for the time they were in the mine. That’s reasonable to me, so we worked out an agreement.”
He declined to reveal how much they would receive, but said they would also get medical and workers’ compensation benefits.
Some of the men had complained on Monday afternoon that they were upset that their bosses had not been in touch with them after they were pulled to safety on Sunday morning.
Mr Rebuck said he had now seen eight of the men and spoken with the ninth on the telephone.
“I gave them hugs... we greeted each other and talked.”
He said he did not have time to speak with them after their rescue but had remained at the mine throughout the operation, sleeping in his pickup truck.
Thomas Foy, 51, the last of the nine miners receiving hospital treatment, was allowed home last night.
An investigation is under way into why the men drilled into an abandoned flooded mine last Thursday, releasing 50 million gallons of water into their own shaft and triggering a cave-in.
