Rescuers find 12 trapped W. Virginia miners alive

By Jon Hurdle

TALLMANSVILLE, West Virginia (Reuters) – Twelve missing
miners were found alive in a West Virginia coal mine nearly two
days after they fled an explosion that sent lethal gases
through the mine and killed one of their colleagues, family
members said.

Rescue workers located the 12 men, who had been trapped
underground since 6:30 a.m. (1130 GMT) on Monday and were
bringing them out of the Sago mine in central West Virginia,
family members said.

Anna McCloy, whose husband Randall McCloy was rescued said
“This is wonderful, wonderful news, they are coming out.”

Officials said the man who died appeared to have been let
off the vehicle carrying his colleagues and was close to the
explosion site, while the other 12, many of them veterans of
the mine, had been deeper inside.

Church bells rang at the Sago Baptist Church where family
members had waited fearfully for more than 36 hours and cheers
broke out when the announcement was made. West Virginia
officials had tried to maintain hope among the families, saying
they should pray for a miracle.

Any hope of finding the men alive had been tempered with
heavy caution because early tests found lethal levels of carbon
monoxide in the tunnel where they were believed trapped. Each
man carried about one hour’s worth of clean air.

There had been no communication with the miners since the
explosion, W. Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin told reporters.

There was no explanation for the explosion, which occurred

in a recently closed section of the mine that employs about
145 miners.

“We know that there had to be methane gas, or a buildup of
fuel if you will, back there, and there had to be something
that sparked it. And no one can speculate on … what could
have happened,” Manchin said.

EXPLOSIVE GAS

He said there had been no cave-in but the explosion had
broken seals preventing bad air from circulating in the mine as
well as gas from the explosion. “Our employees were no doubt
trying to find a safe way to exit the mine,” he said.

The men had been trapped more than 13,000 feet (4,000
metres) inside the mine.

The incident came four years after nine Pennsylvania coal
miners were rescued following a 77-hour ordeal in a flooded
mine shaft 240 feet under ground.

The explosion happened when the mine was reopening after
being closed for the holidays, said Manchin’s spokeswoman Lara
Ramsburg.

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 mine produces about 800,000 tons of coal annually and
employs about 130 people.

(Additional reporting by Chriss Swaney in Pittsburgh,
Claudia Parsons in New York, Adam Entous in Washington)