Wunder von Lengede

After one day, seven more miners could be located with a small access bore hole close to the Hauptbremsberg, a central transport hub in the mine.

While broader rescue drilling was under-way, due to the falling water level, they sent a message to the surface, they would try to escape on their own.

[1] These miners (only three had actually survived) had to be brought to the surface through an escape hole while significantly high pressure was maintained to avoid decompression sickness and a return of the water.

[1] However, a worker called Hütter, whose long year foreman was among the missed, suggested on the previous Sunday to the technical director Ferling a further escape zone.

When contact with a new group of 11 survivors was established via hammer signal, newspapers and media worldwide began to speak of a miracle.

As the experienced rescuers had hoped, more than 20 miners had fled into the Alter Mann as water was rising in the newer parts of the mine.

By the time the drill came down, only 11 had survived in extreme circumstances of falling rock, debris, wounded and dying comrades and different water levels.

After a few more days of drilling rescue access holes, the 11 miners were brought to safety on 7 November after being trapped for two weeks.

They were rescued from a depth of 59 metres (194 ft) via a 52.2 centimetres (20.6 in) diameter shaft, using a device called Dahlbusch bomb.

Der Spiegel described some rumours about East German involvement against critics as well a sort of psychological barrier between different hierarchy levels as reason for the late search in the Alter Mann.