Miners Safe!
- Thread starter Matt R
- Start date
sack
'From man's sweat and God's love, beer came to be.
HALLELUIAH! felt as though i was right there with the miners for the last couple of days. best wishes for them and their families and friends. condolences to the miners that did'nt make it, prayers will be said.
bmd34202
Member
That's great news!
stogieman
" Herf King "
I just read the headlines on morning AOL new and it stated that 12 of the 13 have died and the 13th is in critical condition. My thoughts and prayers are with all the families and God Speed to the lone survivor.
http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.ad...S00010000000001
Only One Miner Survived Coal Mine Explosion
Despite Earlier Reports of Multiple Survivors, 12 Miners Found Dead
TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. (Jan. 4) - In a stunning and heartbreaking reversal, mining officials told family members early Wednesday that 11 of the 12 trapped coal miners initially thought to have survived a mine explosion had died.
West Virginia Mine Tragedy Grows
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Watch Video:
Was Sago Mine Safe?
More Coverage:
· Mining, Death a Way of Life in Coalfields
· Hundreds of Safety Violations
Talk About It: Post Thoughts
The devastating news came more than three hours after Gov. Joe Manchin said he had been told 12 of the miners survived the disaster. Rescue crews found the first victim earlier Tuesday evening.
"About the confusion, I can't tell you of anything more heart-wrenching than I've ever gone through in my life. Nothing," Manchin said.
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.
"It's sorrow beyond belief," International Coal Group Chief Executive Officer Ben Hatfield said during a news conference.
Hatfield told the families gathered at the Sago Baptist Church 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.
At that point, chaos broke out in the church and a fight started.
"Everyone in the church is just devastated," Red Cross volunteer Tamila Swiger told CNN, saying people were breaking down and suffering panic attacks.
The false news about survivors spread quickly after people overheard cell phone calls, Hatfield said. In reality, rescuers had only confirmed finding 12 miners and were checking their vital signs. But what began to leak out to anxious family members was that 12 miners had been discovered alive.
"That information spread like wildfire, because it had come from the command center," he said.
Family members streamed from the church where they had kept vigil, shouting "Praise the Lord!" Bells at the church rang out as family members ran out of the church, yelling "They're alive!"
The explosion was the state's deadliest mining accident since November 1968, when 78 men - including the uncle of Gov. Joe 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.
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 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.
"I think we can confirm with certainty the miners survived for a certain amount of time, but we have no way of knowing exactly how long," Hatfield said.
Associated Press writers Vicki Smith, Allen G. Breed and Mark Williams in Tallmansville contributed to this report. .
01-04-06 04:31 EST
http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.ad...S00010000000001
Only One Miner Survived Coal Mine Explosion
Despite Earlier Reports of Multiple Survivors, 12 Miners Found Dead
TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. (Jan. 4) - In a stunning and heartbreaking reversal, mining officials told family members early Wednesday that 11 of the 12 trapped coal miners initially thought to have survived a mine explosion had died.
West Virginia Mine Tragedy Grows
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Watch Video:
Was Sago Mine Safe?
More Coverage:
· Mining, Death a Way of Life in Coalfields
· Hundreds of Safety Violations
Talk About It: Post Thoughts
The devastating news came more than three hours after Gov. Joe Manchin said he had been told 12 of the miners survived the disaster. Rescue crews found the first victim earlier Tuesday evening.
"About the confusion, I can't tell you of anything more heart-wrenching than I've ever gone through in my life. Nothing," Manchin said.
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.
"It's sorrow beyond belief," International Coal Group Chief Executive Officer Ben Hatfield said during a news conference.
Hatfield told the families gathered at the Sago Baptist Church 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.
At that point, chaos broke out in the church and a fight started.
"Everyone in the church is just devastated," Red Cross volunteer Tamila Swiger told CNN, saying people were breaking down and suffering panic attacks.
The false news about survivors spread quickly after people overheard cell phone calls, Hatfield said. In reality, rescuers had only confirmed finding 12 miners and were checking their vital signs. But what began to leak out to anxious family members was that 12 miners had been discovered alive.
"That information spread like wildfire, because it had come from the command center," he said.
Family members streamed from the church where they had kept vigil, shouting "Praise the Lord!" Bells at the church rang out as family members ran out of the church, yelling "They're alive!"
The explosion was the state's deadliest mining accident since November 1968, when 78 men - including the uncle of Gov. Joe 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.
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 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.
"I think we can confirm with certainty the miners survived for a certain amount of time, but we have no way of knowing exactly how long," Hatfield said.
Associated Press writers Vicki Smith, Allen G. Breed and Mark Williams in Tallmansville contributed to this report. .
01-04-06 04:31 EST
sack
'From man's sweat and God's love, beer came to be.
prayers sent!
Shibumi
Looking for Effortless Perfection
Newsday, the local New York papers front page stated that all where alive. I guess that reporter won't be working for much longer. What a tragedy.
Matt R
That's #1 Member to you. :)
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2001
- Messages
- 5,988
The miracle has turned into a tragedy, though we can be happy that one of the miners made it. It's hard to put fault on anyone in this situation, especially with the speed that news can travel nowadays. This is exactly the reason they try and sequester family members at a tragedy such as this or an airplane crash. The possibility of false hope has to be worse than the bad news itself. My thoughts are with all of the miners and their families, this morning. We have an I.C.G. mine minutes from our house and these folks are feeling it just as much as the West Virginia folks.
galantesghost
New Member
devastating turn of events to begin with. then the premature reports that turned out to be horrifically inaccurate
best wishes to those affected.
and as an afterthought, somebody's gonna be paying out the ass for this one
best wishes to those affected.
and as an afterthought, somebody's gonna be paying out the ass for this one
CvilleYoungGun
Not so young gun anymore.
This miscue was simply sick. When peoples lives are something that you are reporting about, STFU until you know for sure, I agree someone will pay out the ass for this one. Sorry about the emotion but this hits close to home.
CYG
CYG
Double D
alphabetically challenged
My feeling on this was the press wanted a scoop so bad they let leak a rumor that truly devastated some folks.
gkpk
Member
My Prayers go out to the families of the miners who perished.
