Gov. Manchin reveals new details on miners’ whereabouts at time of W.Va. explosion

W.Va. gov gives new details about miners’ location

MONTCOAL, W.Va. — Gov. Joe Manchin is giving more details about where miners were at the time of an explosion that killed 25 people in West Virginia.

Manchin tells The Associated Press on Friday that two groups of miners killed in the blast were found on vehicles that take miners underground. Previously, officials had only described one group on the vehicles, known as mantrips.

Manchin says the miners were “just sitting on the mantrips” and no one had respirators on, meaning the blast caught them by complete surprise.

Crews are still trying to get deeper in the mine to see if four missing miners may have somehow survived.