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W.Va. Miracle: 12 Coal Miners Alive

Posted on: Wednesday, 4 January 2006, 18:00 CST

By ALLEN G. BREED

W.Va. miracle: 12 coal miners alive

TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. Twelve miners caught in an explosion in a coal mine were found alive Tuesday night, sending family members streaming from the church where they had gathered during the nearly two-day ordeal.

Joyous shouts rose of Praise the Lord!

Bells at the church rang out as family members ran out screaming in jubilation.

Relatives yelled Theyre alive!

They told us they have 12 alive, Gov. Joe Manchin said. We have some people that are going to need some medical attention.

Rescue crews found the body of a 13th miner earlier Tuesday evening and said they were holding out hope that the others were still alive, even as precious time continued to slip away.

The mines owner, International Coal Group Inc., did not immediately confirm that the 12 other men were alive.

A relative at the church said a mine foreman called relatives there, saying the miners had been found.

A few minutes after word came, the throng, several hundred strong, broke into a chorus of the hymn How Great Thou Art, in a chilly, night air.

Miracles happen in West Virginia and today we got one, said Charlotte Weaver, wife of Jack Weaver, one of the men who had been trapped in the mine.

I got scared a lot of times, but I couldnt give up, she said.

We have an 11-year-old son, and I couldnt go home and tell him, Daddy wasnt coming home.

There were hugs and tears among the crowd outside the Sago Baptist Church near the mine, about 100 miles northeast of Charleston.

Helen Winans, whose son Marshall Winans, is one of those trapped said she believes there was divine intervention.

The Lord takes care of them, she said.

One body was found about 700 feet from a mine car, and it appeared the employee was working on a beltline, which brings coal out of the mine, said Ben Hatfield, chief executive officer for ICG of Ashland, Ky.

The mine car was empty, which led rescuers to believe the others may have been safe somewhere else in the mine.

The miners had been trapped 260 feet below the surface of the mine after an explosion early Monday.

Company officials have refused to speculate on the cause of the blast, but the Governors Office said it might have been caused by lightning.

Manchin said the abandoned section did not have equipment that could have sparked the explosion.

Hatfield said rescue crews did not find a cave-in or a roof collapse.

Sandy Barron, whose nephew Randal McCloy was one of the trapped miners, said families were told there was no trace of the other men. And they were still hopeful their loved ones made it to safety.

Families hoped the fact that the mine car was undamaged meant the other miners might have escaped unharmed.

Theres a very good chance theyve barricaded themselves somewhere, said John Groves, whose brother Jerry Groves was among the trapped miners.

They dont know where they went, but they went somewhere.

Earlier Tuesday, the prospects of finding any of the miners alive appeared bleak after holes drilled into the ground yielded deadly levels of carbon monoxide and no signs of life.

With each hour that passes, the likelihood of a successful outcome diminishes, Hatfield said, adding the rescue effort was clearly in the situation where we need a miracle.

Rescue teams worked their way through the mine on foot for fear machinery might cause volatile gases to explode.

The company told families that a powerful explosion had rocked the mine, based on damage near where the miners may be trapped, said Rick McGee, who works at the mine with McCloy, his brother-in-law.

Source: Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.

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