Ordeal Shows in Faces of Eight Miners
Who Cheated Death
These eight miners came back from the dead. They lived through 53 hours of flames, black
damp and fright. Rescuers found them
battling their way through 24 fires and as many slate falls for two days. The miners, parat of 31 entombed by an
explosion in the No. 1 mine of Kentucky, Straight Creek Coal Co. near Pineville, saved themselves by stopping
up an entrance that kept deadly carbon monoxide fumes away. Bud Townes led the men in their fight for
life. Ivan Philpot said a miracle –
pure air that somehow poured into their tomb – saved them. Hugh (Huey) Miller said he prayed aloud for
eventual rescue. Tom McQueen, shown in
an oxygen tent avove, still fought for his life last night – a life that was
all but gone when rescue squad snatched him from the blackened mine. These pictures were made in Pineville
Hospital.
The Eight Miners pictured
are:
McKinley Leath, Ivan
Philpot, “Huey” Miller, Tom McQueen, Charles
Lingar, Joe Hatfield, Bud Townes and Bill Branstutter.