Miners From Quecreek Cave-In Talk About Being Pulled to The Surface In a Pod (VIDEO)

In 2002, nine miners working the Quecreek Mine in Pennsylvania were rescued after spending 78 hours trapped underground. Although that was a much shorter ordeal than the Chilean miners who are being rescued today went through, it was much more intense, as the Quecreek rescue was a race against rising water and declining oxygen levels.

The experience both groups did share was the way the were extracted -- via a small capsule that was lowered to them. Appearing on the 'Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell' (weekdays, 10 PM ET on MSNBC) Quecreek miner Tom Foy explained what it was like getting into the small pod:

"Getting into the capsule wasn't too much of problem, some of the guys were little bigger than others, but the way everybody helped everybody. All I know is if you want to get out of there bad enough you'll get in there whether you're upside down or what."

The rescued Quecreek miners O'Donnell spoke to seemed to agree it was a life-changing experience. Of the nine miners, only one continued to work underground.