Story highlights The mine will suspend operations until the incident is investigated and the infrastructure fixed, manager says

The miners were cold but OK, he says, adding: "Their spirits are tremendous"

All the miners stuck in an elevator at a Cargill rock salt mine near Lansing, New York, have been rescued

(CNN) Seventeen salt miners were supposed to start their shift after they entered an elevator at an upstate New York mine on a freezing Wednesday night.

Instead, the men spent that shift huddled together for hours after the elevator stopped about 800 feet below ground, doing what they could to keep themselves warm as rescuers worked to bring them to the surface, officials said.

Rescuers used a crane-lowered basket to retrieve all 17 men from a shaft at a Cargill rock salt mine near Lansing, New York, by 8:30 a.m. Thursday, more than 10 hours after the elevator became stuck.

The rescued miners were cold but OK, said Shawn Wilczynski, manager of Cargill's Cayuga Salt Mine.

"Their spirits are tremendous," Wilczynski told reporters. "As far as their spirit, I'm inspired by them."

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