Three friends who spent four days in an abandoned West Virginia coal mine after becoming trapped were dramatically rescued on Wednesday and reunited with their families before being taken to hospital.
With dirty faces and wet clothes, Kayla Williams, 25, Erica Treadyway, 31, and Cody Beverly, 21, emerged from the Rock House Powellton mine on Wednesday. They got trapped in the mine on Friday along with Kayla's cousin Eddie Williams, 43.
Eddie Williams, who sheriffs say previously worked in a coal mine in the area, became separated from the group and escaped on his own on Monday.
He told authorities where the other younger members of the group were roughly, but it took search teams two days to locate them in the enormous mine.
They battled depleted oxygen levels during their search and used fans to circulate fresh air through the network of tunnels.
Beverly told on Wednesday night how they survived by drinking dirty water from puddles inside the tunnel which they 'prayed' were not contaminated.
'We drank mine water. We had no food. We just found a stream in the mine, just started drinking and hoping and praying to God that it was not contaminated,' he said.
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As they were brought back to a meeting point where their terrified families and friends had gathered on Wednesday, there were cheers and cries of 'Praise the Lord'.
Some people burst into an impromptu rendition of Amazing Grace.'
Speaking at the meeting point on Wednesday night, Beverly sobbed as he buckled under his grandfather's arm.
'It was terrible!' he cried, clutching a can of Coca Cola to replenish him.
Treadway lost her shoes in the mine and was seen being placed on a gurney with soaking feet and trousers.
Kayla was cradled by a relative as she walked into an ambulance. She did not appear to have serious injuries.
As the paramedics waited to close the door to take her away, she yelled: 'Love y'all!' to the crowd.
The trio cried during the brief reunion and spoke to reporters to say they were grateful for the search efforts before being taken to the hospital.
'Anybody who was involved in searching for us, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
'This is the biggest lesson I have ever learned in my life,' Beverly said, placing one arm around Kayla.
Among those who waited at the meeting point for news on Wednesday night was the Governor, Jim Justice.
He was cheerful after the group returned safely, saying in an interview: 'We didn't quit and we found them!'
When the trio emerged from a Fire Department Truck at the meeting point where their families were gathered, there was roaring applause and cheers. Some people started singing 'Amazing Grace' as others labeled their return a 'Christmas miracle'
Beverly sobbed as he reunited with his grandfather and screamed 'it was terrible' when someone asked him how the last four days had been. They were reunited briefly at a meeting point where dozens of others gathered in anticipation of news
Kayla cried as she was held by a relative at the meeting point on Thursday before being taken to the hospital
Treadway lost her shoes in the mine. She complained that she could not keep her feet warm as she was helped onto a gurney in her soaking trousers
Cody and Kayla (left) spoke briefly to reporters before being taken to the hospital with Erica (right). All three of them were discharged on Thursday morning and they are now awaiting criminal charges
The dozens of people who had gathered to wait for news were emotional and elated on Wednesday night after the trio returned safely
There were emotional scenes at the meeting point on Wednesday night where the trio's families were gathered to wait for news
Dozens of people gathered at the meeting point, the Salamy Memorial Center, to await news of the rescue effort. They are pictured on Wednesday, before the trio were brought to safety
Relatives and friends waited for days in the meeting point for news of the rescue. They told on Wednesday night that it was a 'Christmas miracle' they had been found
Among those who waited for news was West Virginia Governor Jim Justice who on Wednesday night declared: 'We didn't quit!
DailyMail.com can reveal that all three of them were discharged on Thursday morning and are now at home awaiting charges.
Lt. M. McCray of the Raleigh County Sheriff's Department shared some of the details of how they survived on Thursday.
'They may have had a few snacks but no water or, a small amount.
'They did not expect to be down there for so long,' he said. The mine was closed two years ago after functioning as a coal mine for decades.
The mine spans thousands of feet under the mountains and straddles two local counties.
'At one point, the search teams went 11,000ft in and at another, they went in 4,000ft.
'It's a considerably large mine. There are tunnels that go thousands of feet into the mountains,' McCray told DailyMail.com.
He said it was not the first time people have had to be rescued from one of the several abandoned mines in his jurisdiction and that the group was lucky to be alive.
'Sometimes they are never found,' he said morbidly.
The mine was closed two years ago. Its labyrinth of tunnels spans thousands of feet in the mountains, with sporadic entrance points
The mine is tucked under the mountains where temperatures have hovered between 40F and 50F over the last several days
The mine is located in the mountains near Clear Creek which is around 50 miles southeast of Charleston
Where the group's ATV was found was known as a 'punch-out' - a point in the mine where, for either ventilation purposes or through accident, there is a point of access.
It is not where workers would have started their shifts and unless they stumbled upon it during a trek through the area, something the cop said was plausible, they would have had to have known about it to get there.
'The people in this area, they go into the woods, hunting and fishing and they discover these things. They could accidentally run across it,' he said.
They were searching for copper wire to sell, according to Kayla's father Randall who said they were desperate and unemployed. '[They] whatever they can do to make money if they ain't got a job,' he told CBS on Wednesday night.
He said it was 'typical' for people to illegally enter the mines to steal copper wire and sell it but that it remains to be seen whether that was what the group planned.
Link hienalouca.comhttps://hienalouca.com/2018/12/13/three-people-who-went-missing-in-coal-mine-for-four-days-in-west-virginia-are-found-alive/
Main photo article Three friends who spent four days in an abandoned West Virginia coal mine after becoming trapped were dramatically rescued on Wednesday and reunited with their families before being taken to hospital.
With dirty faces and wet clothes, Kayla Williams, 25, Erica Treadyway, 31, and Cody Beverly, 2...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
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