W.Va. miner underground at time of explosion didn’t feel, hear blast; says power went out

W.Va. miner talks about underground explosion

MOUNT HOPE, W.Va. — A West Virginia miner working underground when an explosion killed 25 colleagues saw the power go out, but only learned of the devastation when crews told him of flying debris.

“It started to sink in then,” Melvin Lynch told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “We heard the lives were lost.”

Lynch’s brother, Roosevelt, died in the blast but Lynch’s nephew, who also was in the mine, survived. Melvin Lynch was working far from the explosion and didn’t hear or feel it. When the power went out, no one panicked because it had happened before.

Lynch said he was doing his best to cope.

“It’s hard. It’s a day-to-day thing. I’m just praying right now,” he said.

Lynch said he has been working in the mines for more than 10 years and understands the risk.

“People walking down the street can get hurt,” he said. “I don’t know what else I would do — work for a utility company? Railroad? Other than that, I’d only find a mediocre job making less money.”

Lynch said he wasn’t mad at Massey Energy Co., which owns the Upper Big Branch mine where the blast occurred.

“There’s no reason to be mad at Massey in particular,” he said. “There’s not a coal mine in the world that you can go to and not find something wrong. It’s the nature of the business and it’s up to the men to make it safer.”