A program on Sunday to mark the 50th anniversary of the Sheppton mine disaster will be held at the mine site in Schuylkill County as well as at the grave of a third miner killed in a cave-in on August 13, 1963, that trapped the miners 300 feet underground.

Miners David Fellin and Henry "Hank" Throne were rescued after 14 days underground. The two survived on stagnant water.

After six days with no surface contact, rescuers drilled a six-inch borehole and lowered a light and camera to find the pair.

Billionaire Howard Hughes paid for the drilling of a larger hole, and the surviving men were pulled from the mine on August 27.

The third miner, Louis Bova, was separated from the other miners and never found.

“I was 25 at the time and even back then, I sensed [the rescue] was a miracle,” rescuer Ronnie Sando told the Standard Speaker.

Sando said he would attend the commemoration.

Bova’s son John, who was eight months old at the time of the incident, will also be there.

The surviving miners have since passed away; Fellin in 1980 at age 74 and Throne in 1998 at 63.