Buckhannon Mine Disaster
 

I can't believe that no one has mentioned the mine accident at Sago Mine, Buckhannon, West Virginia, yet! The reports that I've heard have said that the soonest the drilling to where they hope the 13 miners are could be as long as another 47 hours.

FWIW, my brother said that caves are always about 55 degrees, which surprised me; this particular mine has had many violations, though. Supposedly, they have about an hour of oxygen each available. They are so deep, though, much deeper than the Quecreek Mine in 2002. My heart and prayers are with the miners & their families.

There are many of the GLOs represented here on GreekChat have chapters at West Virginia Wesleyan, which is in Buckhannon. A list of the fraternities & sororities is on their website. Let's just help that they open their hearts to help, if possible.

Kinda threw a sad wet blanket over WVU and their Sugar Bowl Game vs UGa.

I just heard this on the news. I'm praying that they come out safe and sound, regardless as to what the odds are.

A WVU alum mentioned the same thing - do you know the outcome?

I've been to Buckhannon, and the college campus is beautiful. The stats I've been reading show a LOT of poverty there, though.

Prayers to their families....how awful to be trapped like that.

WVU 38, UGa 35

Congratulations, but it's just a game.

I'm not from WVU, but my friend will be happy. I think the Governor showed a lot of class by leaving the game to see to the coal miners, though.

They are sounding optimistic this morning.

The men and women who mine coal are so brave to go to that job every day. I hope and pray that everyone trapped in the Buckhannon mine return safely.

The latest news isn't very good. A robot was sent down, and the air quality isn't condusive to life. :(

Mining Exec 'Very Discouraged' by Air Tests

By JENNIFER C. YATES, Associated Press Writer

TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. - Rescuers trying to reach 13 trapped miners punched a hole into the mine early Tuesday, but a company executive said he was "very discouraged" by air quality tests.

Carbon monoxide levels measured 1,300 parts per million, exceeding the 400 parts per million maximum safe level, said Ben Hatfield, chief executive officer of mine owner International Coal Group Inc.

"We are very discouraged by the results of this test," Hatfield said.

Still, Hatfield said the trapped miners could still be alive.

"They could be in another location or they could be barricaded somewhere," Hatfield told reporters.

The test results were announced after crews drilled the hole. They also sent a camera down the 6 1/4 inch hole to look for signs of life, and planned to move in a camera-equipped robot, Gov. Joe Manchin said.

"We're still hoping for that miracle as you know," Manchin told ABC's "Good Morning America."

Family members, who had been optimistic and talkative with reporters, retreated to the nearby Sago Baptist Church without making any comments after learning of the test results.

The families and friends of the miners believed to be trapped below ground had waited overnight in a muddy field and the church near the mine's entrance in Upshur County, about 100 miles northeast of Charleston.

They waited for any news about the progress of mine rescue crews trying to locate their fathers, brothers, uncles and sons, who were trapped 260 feet below the surface of the mine after an explosion early Monday.

"It's hard waiting," said Tambra Flint, whose 26-year-old son Randal McCloy was trapped in the mine.

Flint stayed at the mine overnight, making her way to the closest entrance and staring into the blackness.

Daniel Merideth, son-in-law of Alby Martin Bennett who had planned to retire this year, also stayed at the site. He said he didn't sleep at all, preferring to site under a tent near the mine's entrance.

Every couple of hours, the group of a couple hundred family members and friends were briefed by mine officials.

"We don't want them to hear something from the media first," said Gene Kitts, a senior vice president for mine owner International Coal Group Inc. of Ashland, Ky.

He said family members, many of whom have worked in the mines themselves, have had lots of questions, some of them as specific as what type of machines are being used in the rescue effort.

"Every day he would come home and pray for who was going in," said Merideth. "Right now he is probably in there witnessing to people. He would be organizing and praying."

The rescue teams entered the mine more than 11 hours after the blast. They were kept out of the mine for most of the day because of dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide.

The miners carry individual air purifying systems that would give them up to seven hours of clean air, said Tim McGee, who works at the mine and was among those at the Sago Baptist Church. They do not carry oxygen tanks, he said.

Kitts said the miners each had between 3 and 30 years experience and are trained to try to tap on roots, waterlines, anything possible, to alert rescuers of their location.

"This is not a rookie crew underground," Kitts said. "So we're just trusting that their training and their mining instincts have kicked in immediately ...

"We will expect to be there quick enough so that food, water, those sorts of issues probably will not come into play," Kitts said.

Coal mine explosions are typically caused by buildups of naturally occurring methane gas, and the danger increases in the winter months, when the barometric pressure can release the odorless, colorless and highly flammable gas.

The mine had been idle on Saturday and Sunday, and two groups of miners were to resume production on Monday. A fire boss went into the mine before the first group entered the mine at 5:51 a.m. and declared it was safe.

The second group of miners entered at 6:30 a.m., just before power went out in the mine. The second group withdrew.

ICG acquired the Sago Mine (pronounced SAY-goh) last March when it bought Anker West Virginia Mining Co., which had been in bankruptcy. The Sago Mine had annual production of about 800,000 tons of coal, the company said.

Federal inspectors cited the mine for 46 alleged violations of federal mine health and safety rules during an 11-week review that ended Dec. 22, according to records.

The more serious alleged violations, resulting in proposed penalties of at least $250 each, involved steps for safeguarding against roof falls, and the mine's plan to control methane and breathable dust. The mine received 208 citations from MSHA during 2005, up from 68 citations in 2004.

The state Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training issued 144 notices of violation against the mine in 2005, up from 74 the year before.

Kitts said safety at the mine has improved dramatically since ICG took over and the company is working closely with regulatory agencies to make further improvements.

"We think that we are operating a safe mine," he said. "We have no real clue about what triggered this explosion or what happened today."

To say the least.

As a relative of one of the trapped minors said on NPR yesterday, the only way to make a decent living in that area of the country is to have a college degree or work in the mines. Pretty much everything else is poverty.

I pray for a safe outcome to this situation, but it would appear that some kind of miracle will be necessary.

My late grandfather's family came from Applacian Ohio (10 of Ohio's 88 counties are, or at least were when I was growing up there, considered depressed areas. My Alma Mater is located in an Appalacian county -- not all that far from the West Virginia border) All of my great uncles on that side of the family worked in the mines -- and all got out and went to work for the railroads because of the danger.

My grandfather worked in the "company store" in Glouster, OH, and also assisted the local undertaker. He had some really amazing stories to tell.

Miners are a tough breed. Hopefully that will help in this situation.

I was watching this unfold on the news last night. Very, very sad. I hope that the miners were able to escape into a safer area of the mine shaft after the explosion and that we'll hear some good news soon.

I can't imagine how the families feel waiting and not knowing. I'm so glad that my father was never in that kind of situation because I would be a mess.

When I was in college, I got to be part of "The Pittsburgh Heritage Experience", which was mostly conducting oral histories & photos of immigrants and others who lived here at the turn of the century, up to WWII. It was such an eye opener! I left the project two years later, saying that I would never marry a miner! It's just too scary. You are so right - those men are a breed of their own. May God bless them.

My granddaddy was a company man, too. I never met him, but my daddy told me stories about their house being stoned and all. It was especially weird because his granddaddy owned a greenhouse - it almost seems surreal.

BTW, if you live near Pittsburgh, the only two places which do NOT have a mine under them are Crafton, and the corner where St. Ann's Church in Castle Shannon was - as the immigrants wouldn't "undermine" their church! Beyond that, it's not IF you're over a mine, it's a matter of how much space is between your house and the roof of the mine.

Does this mean that you do not own the land under your home in Pittsburgh?!?! Do homes collapse with the downfall of old mine shafts?
<amazed>
Silver

Unfortunately, very few people do, in this county. My ancestors in two other counties which were originally VA counties and became PA counties owned the mineral rights - it seems to vary.

You can get mine subsidence insurance. The Bureau of Mines has maps which will tell you how much "ceiling" you have between your house & the mine. The larger the number, the less you need the insurance. My first house, there was 60 feet (ouch!), so I insured to the max. My current house is 500+ feet, so I'm not as highly insured.

My brother knows someone who had subsidence of a whole inch - and collected several thousand dollars. Honestly, you can't even tell the difference!

Most of the shafts have been filled in; it's the actual mines that are aging. They used locust posts to hold up the roof of the mines, and they should be rotting soon. I'd like to be out of here by then!

Having lived in both Kentucky AND Western Pennsylvania, I have nothing but sympathy for the families of the trapped miners. Yes, the Governor may have shown "class" by leaving the game but I also think he had a moral obligation. After all, he is the leader of the state.

My grandfather was one of those immigrant coal miners before they left Pennsylvania and came to Detroit. He had the black lung disease to show for it. Tough job.

They found one body in a mine car. :(

Frankly, during the Quecreek disaster, I was so impressed with how then-Governor Richard Schweiker stayed at the mine 24/7, I was hoping he'd go for higher office! Too many governors, even though being a "cheerleader" IS part of the job, just wouldn't have bothered.

I just don't have a good feeling about this one, though - and we are much more dependent upon coal than most people are willing to admit!

Hope you don't mind, OTW, but I wasn't able to link from your post:

"Families Are Told Body Found in W.Va. Mine By VICKI SMITH, Associated Press Writer

TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. - Rescue crews found one body late Tuesday in a West Virginia mine where 13 miners were trapped after an explosion, but they held out hope that the others were still alive.

The unidentified 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 the mine's owner, International Coal Group Inc.

Red Cross volunteer Tamila Swiger, who was with miners' families inside a church, said family members were "passing out and crying and just really in bad shape" after hearing about the body from Gov. Joe Manchin.

The body was not identified.

There was no immediate word about the fate of the other 12 miners, who had been trapped 260 feet below the surface of the Sago Mine, about 100 miles northeast of Charleston, after an explosion early Monday.

Rescuers located the body about 11,250 feet from the mine's entrance. Officials had thought the miners were about 12,000 feet inside the mine.

Hatfield said it appeared that the other miners were able to get out of the mine car "under their own power."

"But we do not know from there, at this point, where they have gone," he said. "We are still operating in rescue mode and are looking for survivors."

Rescuers cannot go any further in the mine without improved ventilation systems, which the company was installing, he said.

Company officials have refused to speculate on the cause of the blast, but the governor's office said it might have been caused by lightning.

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.

The body was found in a mine car that was undamaged. Families hoped the undamaged car meant the other miners may have been able to escape unharmed.

"That's a good thing. There's a very good chance they've barricaded themselves somewhere," said John Groves, whose brother Jerry Groves was among the trapped miners. "They don't 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 that 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.

Cinderblock walls meant to direct the flow of air inside the mine were knocked down by the blast, McGee said.

Given the new information, McGee said, "There's a chance, not a great chance, but there is still a chance" that the miners could still be alive if they were able to barricade themselves.

President Bush said the nation was praying for the men, and he offered federal help to bring them out alive. "May God bless those who are trapped below the earth," he said.

Rescuers had drilled narrow holes into the mine, inserted air monitors and found levels of carbon monoxide more than three times the maximum regarded as safe. Carbon monoxide, a byproduct of combustion, can be lethal.

Hatfield said it was possible the miners barricaded themselves somewhere and were still alive. But, he said, company officials were "very discouraged" by the test results.

Also, a camera lowered down a 6 1/4-inch hole spotted no sign of the miners, and drilling crews pounded on a steel pipe and listened for a response but heard nothing, Hatfield said."

(ps - am I the only one who noticed that there seem to be a lot of Hatfields and McCoys involved?)

I've been watching coverage on CNN and Anderson Cooper is trying so hard to get people to answer questions and he just keeps getting the same answers over and over. As he was talking to a mine expert from PA, he was trying to get him to use less technical terms because this mining stuff clearly has it's own language. He was trying to get him to compare it to something that people can relate to and the guy said "You really can't compare it to anything". He keeps trying to get people to say how the explosion could have happened and they keep saying "We'll have to wait for an investigation". Etc, etc, etc.. he's not getting any answers.

Sometimes, I'm not sure that 24 hour news channels are a good thing.

I don't know why you made me lol with that, but you did! We have somewhat local coverage that I've been watching (help me, Pittsburgh people - about 1 1/2-2 hours away?), so we're getting the "real stuff".

But it is true - they won't know exactly what happened until there's an investigation. There are just too many possibilities.

That has nothing to do with this. Even if they were drilling oil, this explosion would have happened. But way to get that little democratic stab in.

THANK GOD! Twelve of the men were found alive. A miracle for sure!

It is a miracle they found the men alive!!!! :)


Side question: for those of you who said your houses are on top of old mines, can't you collect some sort of royalty for the product that comes out from under your home? The first "real" job I had was at a chemical company that mined. I know we use to pay some man HUGE royalties for the stuff we took out of the ground-- I don't know specifics on the contracts, as I would just wire him the money, but they were some nice sums of cash he was receiving.
And from being on business trips into mines, it is unreal to be down there. The trip down the shaft is unreal, the darkness when you turn off your miners light, it is all overwhelming. When we were underground we asked the guys and they said they were well trained and were able to get around in the complete darkness of their mines. They said they knew what to do if something should happen. I could never imagine being trapped down there!!! It is amazing they found them alive.

Those lying CEOs of this mine....

only one survivor....

makes me sick at my stomach....

It depends on what kind of deal there was going. You can sell the rights to what is below you. When you own property, you also own the sky above in and whatever is below it. Chances are when the property is purchased there was something written into the contract about the mines. I also don't know- WV may have specific sorts of laws on this, since coal mining is a major industry there

I was driving through Huntington, WV, this morning, and someone had taken all the USA Todays and written "LIES" all over the front page and hung them up. The local news stations were on all last night with details. One of my classmates left school to become a coal miner (he makes more money there than he would with a college degree) and I worry about him a lot. Our governor, Joe Manchin, lost an uncle in the Mannington #9 mine explosion, and I know this really hurts him.

I've also been told that the Sego mine(s) had numerous safety violations.

I can't even imagine what the families are going through
 

After False Reports of Survivors, Family Members Told That 12 of 13 Miners in W.Va. Mine Are Dead

01-04-2006 7:16 AM
By JENNIFER C. YATES, Associated Press Writer

TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. -- In a stunning and heartbreaking reversal, family members were told early Wednesday that 12 of 13 trapped coal miners found were dead _ three hours after they began celebrating news that they were alive.

http://centralkansas.cox.net/cci/new...e&id=D8ETSL880

My condolences to the families affected. It seems like these tragedies will never end.

Sometimes?

My opinion is that their lust for "facts" and the competitive edge foster misinformation given to the public.

That is not to say that they are responsible for the tragic mistake in announcing that the twelve remaining miners were alive. I suspect that it will be discovered that someone -- probably a low level someone -- who works for the company made a serious error. I don't think there was anything purposful. The problem is, I think, that reporters hear that kind of thing and report it. Even if they disclaim it as unsubstantiated, it becomes fact to some people and rumors spread.

Again, that may not be true in this case, but it is a danger in highly competitive news situations where all of the reporting is live. There's no safety net in case of bad information or a reporter to mis-speaks.

How absolutely horrible. I went to bed feeling extremely happy for those families, my mom called this morning and asked me if I heard about the miners and how terrible it was. I still thought they had lived, and when she told me they all died but one.....wow.....

When I went to bed last night, there was only the one who had been found dead, and everything was looking good. Waking up to having all but one of the remaining miners dead was such a shock, a grieving disappointment beyond words.

From what I've heard, someone overheard two of the company men talking on a cellphone, and ran into the church saying that the other 12 were alive! Then the company came in to say that 11 had died, and one was in critical condition - I cannot begin to imagine the plunge from euphoria to dispair.

God bless their families, and all of the people who gave their all to try to rescue them. If you pray, keep Randy McCloy in prayer, that at least he will survive!

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of life. I will wait until I hear more about how the "miscommunication" was miscommunicated before I solidify my opinion.

I don't mean to sound insensitive but I am curious to know what the salary of a coal miner is. Can anyone tell me?

Thanks.

I heard that someone from the media overheard a cell phone conversation where they said they found the miners and were checking vital signs. Apparently they took that to mean that they were alive. The governor said the crowd in the church went into a joyous uproar and he asked what was going on and was told that they found 12 miners alive. I figure, if the governor hadn't been told by anybody official, it shouldn't have been speculated on. He found out after about 20 minutes that they had been found but it was unknown what their medical status was.

Unfortunate, yes, common, yes. When we had the big black out of '03, as we were leaving our building we were hearing all kinds of rumors about how wide spread it was. We knew all of metro Detroit was out, but I heard a woman say that the power was out from California to New York.. the entire country. When chaos and high emotion are running rampant, there will be misinformation.

Well, also take into account that the closest Anderson Cooper has probably ever been to coal is a coal black cashmere blazer or something of the like.

As far as salary, I looked it up and I'd say around $40K a year. In the areas where the mines are located, that is good money.

Boy, I'd hate to be printing that retraction. That's crazy. Our local news was showing off the USA Today headlines this morning. Our local paper got the correct information though. I suppose deadlines were different (as was the time zone.)

Still, a sad day for the families and friends of the victims. :(

This whole thing is just horrible. :(

I think the misinformation was more of a fault of the mining company and for once not the media. Apparently there was a 1145 pm press conference held by the mining company announcing the positive outcome . Then, even though the brass knew by 1230 am at the latest that only one poor soul was alive, the mining company left those families in a state of false relief for 3 hours before they broke the news. Simply negligent....