12 dead, 10 missing in coal mine blast

MONTCOAL, W.Va. (AP) - An explosion rocked a remote coal mine with a history of safety problems Monday, killing 12 workers and trapping 10 others thousands of feet underground.

Rescuers early Tuesday were making their way to the area the workers were believed trapped at Massey Energy Co.'s sprawling Upper Big Branch mine, where the blast occurred around 3 p.m., said Kevin Stricklin, an administrator for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.

"It's important for us to try to get to the survivors as quickly as possible," said Stricklin.

He said officials hope the miners survived the initial blast and were able to reach airtight chambers that are stocked with food, water and enough oxygen for them to live for four days.

Though the cause of the blast was not known, the operation about 30 miles south of Charleston has a history of violations for not properly ventilating highly combustible methane gas, safety officials said.

Miners were leaving on a vehicle that takes them in and out of the long shaft, when a crew ahead of the them felt a blast of air and went back to investigate, Stricklin said previously.

They found nine workers, seven of whom were dead. Early Tuesday he raised the death toll to 12. Two others were injured. Two other nine-person crews and a safety inspector who had been working alone were believed trapped, perhaps about a mile and a half underground, said Stricklin, an administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health. Officials do not believe that the roof collapsed.

 

"We want to assure the families of all the miners we are taking every action possible to locate and rescue those still missing," said Massey CEO Don Blankenship, who confirmed the number of dead
and missing in a statement.

Distraught family members were briefed and taken to a Massey building off-limits to the media.

MSHA officials didn't yet know what caused the blast, but federal records say the Eagle coal steam releases up to 2 million cubic feet of methane gas into the mine every 24 hours. That is a large amount, said Dennis O'Dell, health and safety director for the United Mine Workers labor union.

Methane is one of the great dangers of coal mining. The colorless, odorless gas is often sold to American consumers to heat homes and cook meals. In mines, giant fans are used to keep methane concentrations below certain levels. In 2006, 12 miners died in a methane explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia. If concentrations are allowed to reach between 5 percent and 15 percent, the gas can explode with a spark roughly similar to the static charge created by walking across a carpet in winter.

In the past year, federal inspectors have cited Massey and fined the company more than $382,000 for repeated serious violations involving its ventilation plan and equipment at the mine run by
subsidiary Performance Coal Co. The violations also cover failing to follow the plan, allowing combustible coal dust to pile up, and having improper firefighting equipment.

Two airtight rescue chambers near the blast site are stocked with enough food, water and air for the miners to survive four days. Another two chambers are a bit farther away. West Virginia requires all underground mines to have wireless communications and tracking systems designed to survive explosions and other disasters. However, Stricklin said much of the communications near the missing men were likely destroyed in the explosion.

The company did not provide details on the extent of the damage at the mine that has had three other fatalities in the last dozen years.

Blankenship said the names of the dead and injured would not be released until next-of-kin were notified.

One injured miner was in intensive care at Charleston Area Medical Center, said spokeswoman Elizabeth Pellegrin, who added that the hospital was preparing for other patients.

The mine, which cannot be seen from the road, has 19 openings and roughly 7-foot ceilings. Inside, it's crisscrossed with railroad tracks used for hauling people and equipment. It is located in a swath of Raleigh and Boone counties that includes a string of mine operations in the heart of coal country. Along the main two-lane road lined with emergency vehicles Monday night are several plants where coal is prepared for shipment by train.

The seam produced 1.2 million tons of coal in 2009, according to the mine safety agency, and has about 200 employees, most of whom work underground on different shifts.

A bulk of the coal is removed with a machine called a longwall miner that uses a cutting head to move back and forth across the working face somewhat like a 1,000-foot-long deli slicer. Hydraulic roof supports shield the miners and equipment as the machines cut deeper into the mountain, with the roof in the mined-out areas caving in by design after workers move on, according to Massey's Web site.

Gov. Joe Manchin was out of town, but working to get back, according to his office. Chief of Staff Jim Spears went to the mine. President Barack