One of the biggest challenges rescuers faced was how to get to the workers. First responders reached out to anybody in the area with the proper equipment to retrieve the men. Mike Toper caught up with the men responsible for bringing the miners to safety.
LANSING, N.Y. -- When you have a situation where seventeen people are stranded nearly a thousand feet below the earth, it's no standard rescue operation. So who do you call?
"1:30 a.m. this morning, my cell phone rang and it was Cayuga County Emergency Services," said Steve Bilinski, president of Auburn Crane and Rigging.
He knew he had to break out the big guns for such a challenging job.
"We brought a bigger crane down there, 275 tons, just because of the length of the wire rope that was on the drum needed to reach where we had to send the man basket," he said.
There were several obstacles to overcome, including freezing temperatures and working in the dark. Bilinski dispatched his foreman Scott Macintosh. He said one of the keys to the rescue was maintaining constant communication with Cargill and the employees in the trapped mine.
"We took it down nice and slow, first time because we weren't sure what we were up against," MacIntosh said. "There was some other cable issues that were interference for us to get by with the car, but after we got past that, it took us about 45 minutes. After that the trips out went very smooth."
The moment of triumph wasn't lost on the longtime crane worker.
"I've never had any experience with this type of a rescue in my life. This to me was unbelievable," MacIntosh said.
The operator of the crane got great relief from the rescue. He spoke with a few of the miners, who were grateful for his help.
"Everyone worked together so well, people that didn't know one another or any of that," said David Smith. "And everybody made it out and it was great to see everybody safe."