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2 Miners Are Missing After Another Fire in W.Va. Shaft -- Sign at Local Store Reads Simply: 'Pray'

Posted on: Tuesday, 24 January 2006, 09:00 CST

By Kelley Schoonover Associated Press

MELVILLE, W.Va. - Anxious families gathered together at a white, clapboard church with Gov. Joe Manchin. Cars lined the usually wide- open streets in this small community. A sign at a hardware store read, simply, "Pray."

With another mine tragedy fresh in their minds, family and friends waited late Friday for news about two coal miners trapped after a conveyor belt caught fire Thursday at the Alma No. 1 mine.

"These individuals know this mine. They're well-qualified miners and they know their safety training. And with God's will, they were able to find breathable air," Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., said after meeting with mine officials and the miners' families.

Rescuers were hampered by the thick smoke and carbon monoxide that the fire spewed in the large mine. After the fire was brought somewhat under control Friday afternoon, rescuers spread out to search for the men in four tunnels, each about 4 miles long. The mine extends as much as 900 feet below ground.

"I don't think we fully know the obstacles we're facing. How much smoke is there? What are the difficulties of traversing through there?" said Doug Conaway, director of the state Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training.

It was unclear exactly where in the mine the missing men were. They were equipped with oxygen canisters that typically produce about an hour's worth of air.

Twenty-one miners were in the southwestern West Virginia mine on Thursday when a carbon monoxide monitor about 10,000 feet from the entrance set off an alarm. Nineteen of the miners escaped.

About 20 rescue teams from four states were at the scene Friday night. Those rescuers in the mine were finding some pockets of fresh air, but Conaway said there was no way to tell if conditions had changed since Thursday night.

The miners' families, friends and co-workers gathered at the Brightstar Freewill Baptist Church to wait for news. Reporters were barred from the church.

The governor was there, just as he was earlier this month with co- workers and relatives of miners trapped after an explosion at the International Coal Group's Sago Mine, on the northern side of the state. Twelve miners died in the disaster. One miner survived, but he remained in a light coma Friday.

"Sago is very fresh in everybody's mind, but this is a different scenario," Manchin said. He said the families were hopeful, but he added, "They know that the odds are a little bit long."

Source: Commercial Appeal, The

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