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West Virginia explosion traps 13 coal miners

Posted on: Monday, 2 January 2006, 18:40 CST

By Juliet Terry

CHARLESTON, West Virginia (Reuters) - Rescuers on Monday began efforts to reach 13 miners trapped more than a mile underground by an early morning explosion at a West Virginia coal mine.

Rescuers from four states were digging their way into Sago mine in hopes of finding the miners, said Steve Milligan of Upshur County's Office of Emergency Management.

"It could be hours, or it could be days," Milligan said of the rescue effort that was hampered by high gas concentrations outside the mine. Local rescuers were joined by others from neighboring states of Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

The cause of the blast, which occurred about 6:30 a.m. (1130 GMT), was not yet known, said officials. There had been no communication with the trapped miners as darkness fell on the area.

"We're really hoping and praying for a speedy recovery and a safe recovery for them," Gov. Joe Manchin told CNN.

"We don't know what could have happened. It was just a horrific accident."

After ventilation fans dissipated the unidentified gas outside the mine, rescuers headed inside to assess damage and start digging through a wall of debris blocking access to the miners, Milligan said.

Hundreds of family and friends gathered at a nearby Baptist church where the Red Cross set up operations.

Loretta Abel said her fiancé was among the trapped miners. "He was going to call in sick today but he wanted to make more money for the holidays," she said in a telephone interview.

The mine, owned by International Coal Group Inc which acquired it through a recent merger, is located in central West Virginia, about 100 miles from Charleston.

Miners are equipped with breathing equipment and other survival supplies. "There's always that possibility, that hope and that chance, they were able to go to a part of the mine that still has safe air," Manchin said. "There's places they can retreat in all these mines. They have catacombs."

MINE REOPENING AFTER HOLIDAY

The explosion happened when the mine was reopening after it had been closed for the holidays, according to Manchin's spokeswoman, Lara Ramsburg.

Ramsburg said two cars had been entering the mine and the second car, carrying six miners, made it out after feeling the effects of the explosion.

The six miners tried to reenter the mine to rescue their fellow workers but could not reach them, she said.

Gas levels outside the mine had threatened further explosions and caused officials to evacuate the area before the gas was dissipated. The gas was initially thought to be methane, but officials later said they were not certain what it was.

There were also worries about a build-up of carbon monoxide from fires in the mine, said Terry Farley of the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training.

Since October, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued 50 citations to Sago mine, some as recently as December 21, including citations for accumulation of combustible materials such as coal dust and loose coal.

"The incident coincided with a local thunderstorm but we do not know at this time whether those events were related," said International Coal Group spokesman Roger Nicholson.

Manchin, who was in Atlanta to attend the Sugar Bowl football game between the University of Georgia and West Virginia University, left to return to West Virginia.

The West Virginia Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training says there were three fatalities involving miners in 2005 from three separate incidents.

In 2002, nine Pennsylvania coal miners were rescued after a 77-hour ordeal in a flooded mine shaft 240 feet underground.

(Additional reporting by Chriss Swaney in Pittsburgh and Doina Chiacu in Washington)

Source: REUTERS

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