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On Top Of The News Email:news@arubatoday.com website: www.arubatoday.com Tel:+297 582-7800 Friday, January 8, 2016

Salt of the Earth

New York Miners Safe After Night Underground

The fourth group of workers emerge from an elevator Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, after they were stuck overnight in a shaft at the Cayuga Salt Mine in Lansing, N.Y. Cargill
Inc. spokesman Mark Klein said all 17 miners have been rescued.

(Simon Wheeler/The Ithaca Journal via AP, Pool)

MICHAEL HILL Associated Press The miners would spend The rescued miners, who underground, according
JENNIFER PELTZ LANSING, N.Y. (AP) — Sev- the next 10 hours stuck in ranged in age from 20 to to federal Mine Safety and
enteen miners spent a frigid a shaft that’s also an air 60, were checked out and Health Administration re-
night in a broken-down el- intake, with night air less found to be uninjured, and cords.
evator in America’s deep- than 20 degrees rushing in some colleagues who had And despite a deadly ac-
est salt mine, huddling with as they tried to stay warm already descended into cident in 2010,
heat packs and blankets with heat pads, blankets the 2,300-foot-deep mine mine agency official Neal
before being rescued early and containers of coffee when the lift got stuck Merrifield said the mine has
Thursday, a mishap that that were lowered down, emerged safely via anoth- a good safety record with
highlighted the sometimes- officials said. er route. a lower rate of violations
risky work of churning out Ultimately, a crane was While authorities and mine and accidents than similar
the road salt that keeps brought in from 30 miles owner Cargill Inc. were in- facilities.
traffic moving on ice and away to pull the miners to vestigating what caused While it’s not uncommon
snow. safety in a cage-like bas- the problem, a spokesman for mine lifts to get stuck,
The workers were descend- ket, a few at a time, as for the Minneapolis-based the problems rarely last
ing to start their shifts around those gathered up top company said it appeared as long or strand so many
10 p.m. Wednesday when cheered. that the beam that keeps people as happened Thurs-
the roughly 5-by-6-foot car “Their spirits are tremen- the elevator’s car aligned day, Merrifield said.
abruptly stopped about dous. I’m inspired by in the shaft was bent or bro- But he said overloading
90 stories below ground in them, to be quite honest ken. wasn’t a concern.
the Cayuga salt mine while with you,” mine manager The malfunction came five The mine taps into a rock
heading to a floor nearly Shawn Wilczynski said. days after a circuit breaker salt formation under a
deep enough to fit two Em- “The first four that came out problem briefly knocked swath of upstate New York.
pire State Buildings stacked of the mine waited until the the lift out of service dur-
atop one another. last two came out.” ing a test trip with no one Continued on Page 4