On August 13th, 1963, a cave in occurred at the Oneida Slope No. 2 of the Fellin Coal Company near Sheppton, PA. Approximately 330 feet underground, three miners were known to be trapped inside the mine; Henry Throne, 28, David Fellin, 58, Louis Bova, 42. For 5.5 days, it was uncertain whether the miners were alive. Efforts were made to drill boreholes to make contact with the miners, which proved successful, making contact with Thorne and Fellin. Through this they were also able to get small supplies. After confirming two were still alive, work started on how to get the miners out. For the first time in history, an attempt was made to drill a large diameter borehole large enough to lift the miners directly out of the mine. All this occurred with significant media and government interests, including some funding from billionaire Howard Hughes. On August 27th, the two miners covered themselves in grease, and were pulled out wearing harnesses. This effort even gained accolades from President Kennedy. The third miner, Bova, was working in a different chamber and was never found. Since then, this method has proved successful in saving miners lives around the world.
Photos from the Bernitsky Family, thank you Joe for allowing us to digitize these!
Sources:
Times News, 60th Anniversary — Sheppton Mine Disaster A tragedy that defined an era, 8/12/23