Trapped miners are rescued

Miners trapped in one of the world’s deepest salt mines were rescued, ending a 10-hour ordeal that began when their elevator broke down 900 feet underground.

The 17 workers were descending to the floor of the 2,300-foot-deep Cayuga Salt Mine — nearly deep enough to fit two Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other — to start their shift when the elevator malfunctioned about 10 p.m. Wednesday, said Mark Klein, a spokesman for mine owner Cargill Inc.

With temperatures in the elevator shaft in the teens — the same as the surface — the miners were cold but otherwise unharmed, said Shawn Wilczynski, the mine manager.

The rescued workers ranged in age from 20 to 60, and their mining experience ranged from a few months to four decades.