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MiningMX interviews South African mining entrepreneur Roger Kebble
By Jennifer C. Yates
Associated Press
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060104/ap_on_re_us/mine_explosion
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.
The devastating new information shocked and angered family members,
who had rejoiced with Gov. Joe Manchin hours earlier when a rumor
began to spread that 12 miners were alive. Rescue crews found the
first victim earlier Tuesday evening.
"They knew the odds that were against us, and with that, to have the
ending as it did with this high euphoria, I can only say there was
no one who did anything intentionally other than risk their lives to
save their loved ones," Manchin told ABC's "Good Morning America."
The sole survivor of the disaster, identified by mining officials as
27-year-old Randal McCloy, was hospitalized in critical condition
early Wednesday, a doctor said. When he arrived, he was unconscious
but moaning, the hospital said.
Charles Green, McCloy's father-in-law, told ABC that McCloy was
suffering from hypothermia and was on a ventilator but didn't suffer
any broken bones. There was no carbon monoxide in his body, he said,
despite concerns about high levels of carbon monoxide inside the
mine.
When he found out his son-in law was the only survivor, "I was still
devastated," he said. "My whole family's heart goes out to them
other families."
Thirteen miners had been trapped 260 feet below the surface of the
Sago Mine since an explosion early Monday. The mine is located about
100 miles northeast of Charleston. As rescue workers tried to get to
the men, families waited at the Sago Baptist Church during an
emotional two-day vigil.
But late Tuesday night, families began streaming out of the church,
yelling, "They're alive!" The church's bells began ringing and
families embraced, as politicians proclaimed word of the apparent
rescue a miracle.
As an ambulance drove away from the mine carrying what families
believed was the first survivor, they applauded, not yet knowing
there were no others.
Though the governor announced that there were 12 survivors, he later
indicated he was uncertain about the news. As word buzzed through
the church of survivors, he tried to find out what was going on, he
said.
"All of a sudden we heard the families in a euphoric state, and all
the shouting and screaming and joyfulness, and I asked my
detachments, I said, 'Do you know what's happening?' Because we were
wired in and we didn't know," Manchin said.
International Coal Group Chief Executive Officer Ben Hatfield blamed
the wrong information on a "miscommunication." The news spread after
people overheard cell phone calls, he said. In reality, rescuers had
confirmed only that they had found 12 miners and were checking their
vital signs. At least two family members in the church said they
received cell phone calls from a mine foreman.
"That information spread like wildfire, because it had come from the
command center," he said.
Three hours later, Hatfield told the families that "there had been a
lack of communication, that what we were told was wrong and that
only one survived," said John Groves, whose brother Jerry Groves was
one of the trapped miners.
"There was no apology. There was no nothing. It was immediately out
the door," said Nick Helms, son of miner Terry Helms.
Chaos broke out in the church and a fight started. About a dozen
state troopers and a SWAT team were positioned along the road near
the church because police were concerned about violence. Witnesses
said one man had to be wrestled to the ground when he lunged for
mining officials.
Company officials waited to correct the information until they knew
more about the rescue, Hatfield said.
"Let's put this in perspective. Who do I tell not to celebrate? I
didn't know if there were 12 or one (who were alive)," Hatfield
said.
The explosion was the state's deadliest mining accident since
November 1968, when 78 men -- including the uncle of Manchin -- died
in an explosion at Consol's Farmington No. 9 mine in Marion County,
an hour's drive north of here. Nineteen bodies remain entombed in
the mountain. It was that disaster that prompted Congress to pass
the Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969.
It was also the worst nationwide since a pair of explosions tore
through the Jim Walter Resources No. 5 mine in Brookwood, Ala. on
Sept. 23, 2001, killing 13.
Federal Department of Labor officials promised an investigation.
Acting Assistant Secretary David Dye, who heads the Mine Safety and
Health Administration, said it will include "how emergency
information was relayed about the trapped miners' conditions." The
12 miners were found together behind a barrier they had constructed
to block carbon monoxide gas. They were found near where the company
had drilled an air hole early Tuesday in an attempt to contact the
men.
The miners had stretched a piece of fabric across an area about 20
feet wide to block out the gas, Hatfield said. The fabric is
designed for miners to use as a barrier. Each miner had carried a
breathing apparatus and had been able to use it, according to mining
officials.
The hole also was used to check air quality in the mine, which
revealed high concentrations of carbon monoxide. The odorless,
colorless gas can be lethal at high doses. At lower levels, it can
cause headaches, dizziness, disorientation, nausea, fatigue and
brain damage.
Manchin, who had earlier said that the state believed in miracles,
tried to focus on the news that one had survived.
"We're clinging to one miracle when we were hoping for 13," he said.
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