Three miners were trapped Wednesday in an eastern Tennessee zinc mine after an underground fire, but authorities said they expected to rescue the miners later in the afternoon.
Authorities got a call just after 2 p.m. of a rig fire about 800 feet underground at the Young Mines in New Market, said Capt. Sammy Solomon of New Market Fire Rescue.
There were 54 miners in the mine at the time and 51 were able to get out, Solomon said. Two of those miners were transported to a local hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
The three remaining miners were still trapped underground and could not get out because of smoke, but they were in a safe area, Solomon said.
Solomon said rescue crews planned to have the three miners out within an hour, perhaps by 3:45 p.m., The crews planned to enter the mine and take respirators to the three men so they could leave the area, he said.
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