Officials: 4 missing miners found dead in W.Va.; death toll at 29, worst in coal since ‘70
By APFriday, April 9, 2010
4 missing W.Va. miners dead; final toll at 29
MONTCOAL, W.Va. — Rescue workers located four bodies deep in a West Virginia coal mine, dashing any faint hopes of finding more survivors of a deadly explosion that has claimed 29 lives, the worst U.S. mining disaster in a generation.
Officials announced the grim discovery at the Upper Big Branch Mine around 1 a.m. Saturday, after first notifying family members.
“We did not receive the miracle that we prayed for,” Gov. Joe Manchin said. “So this journey has ended and now the healing will start.”
Until late Friday, officials had held out a slim chance that four missing miners may have made it to an underground refuge chamber which held enough oxygen and water to survive for four days.
“None of the chambers had been deployed and none of our miners suffered,” Manchin said.
“The rescue workers told us they’re sure no one suffered,” Manchin said.
The death toll makes it the worst U.S. coal mining disaster since a 1970 explosion killed 38 in Hyden, Ky. Officials say the mission now is to recover all 22 bodies still inside the mine 30 miles south of Charleston. Seven others were recovered soon after the blast Monday.
Twenty-eight of the dead were Massey employees, and one was a contract worker, a company spokesman said.
Rescuers had hoped the miners might have made it to the chamber stocked with food, water and enough oxygen for several days.
Officials say the mission now is to recover all 22 bodies still inside the Upper Big Branch mine 30 miles south of Charleston. Seven other bodies were recovered after the blast Monday and two other miners were injured.
More than 300 people packed the Mullens Pentecostal Holiness Church for the funeral of Benny Willingham, a 61-year-old miner who was five weeks from retiring when he died. More services were planned Saturday.
“He wasn’t the biggest man in town,” said Rev. Gary Pollard. “But if you could see the size of this man’s heart, you’d see a giant.”
The first time rescuers went into the mine after the explosion they walked past three of the four missing miners without seeing them, because of the smoke and dust in the area.
The fourth and final missing miner was found deeper into the mine around 11:30 p.m. Friday, Stricklin said.
“There was so much smoke and the conditions were so dire with dust in the air that they apparently bypassed the bodies that were on the ground,” said Kevin Stricklin, coal administrator for the federal Mine Safety & Health Administration.
The mine’s owner, Massey Energy Co., has been repeatedly cited for problems with the system that vents methane and for allowing combustible dust to build up. On the day of the blast, MSHA cited the mine with two safety violations — one involving inadequate maps of escape routes, the other concerning an improper splice of electrical cable. However, Stricklin said the violations had nothing to do with the blast.
Associated Press writers Greg Bluestein, Vicki Smith and Tom Breen contributed to this report.
Tags: Accidents, Barack Obama, Charleston, Energy, Explosions, Government Regulations, Industry Regulation, Montcoal, Municipal Governments, North America, Personnel, Search And Rescue Efforts, United States, Virginia, West Virginia
