A tour guide is seen inside the No. 9 Mine, Lansford, in this 2020 photo. Police said they were awaiting the Pennsylvania State Police Special Emergency Response Team after finding a man with a weapon in the mine on Thursday morning.
Roger DuPuis | Times Leader
Man was several hundred feet underground in an area only accessible by a “mule way”
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LANSFORD — An hours-long standoff at an historic coal mine ended peacefully at about 4 p.m. Thursday, according to our newsgathering partners at Eyewitness News WBRE/WYOU.
Local police called in the Pennsylvania State Police Special Emergency Response Team after finding a man with a weapon in the No. 9 Coal Mine in Lansford, Carbon County, Thursday morning.
Carbon County Detective Jack Soberick told Eyewitness News a person was discovered inside the mine around 10:30 a.m. while a safety check was being conducted.
Mine Safety Rescue made contact with the man who said he had a weapon. When police tried to get the man out, they say he refused. Police in the area are currently awaiting the arrival of PSP Special Emergency Response Team.
Soberick says the man is several hundred feet underground in an area only accessible by a “mule way.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Mine Safety is responding as well.
Opened in 1855, No. 9 Coal Mine, located in Lansford, is the world’s oldest continuously operated anthracite coal mine, according to its Facebook page. Closed in 1972, the mine was re-opened as a heritage tourism attraction in 2002.
Officials said the mine was evacuated as a result of Thursday’s incident.
See the attached video for a look inside the mine during normal tourist operations.