13 miners trapped

it distresses me to see this. It's a dangerous job but I'm appalled at the slow pace the concerted agencies make. The drill hole needed to be started within an hour of the explosion.

All the rescue dragerman I've seen are bare faced. Why? They could penetrate so much futher and fix the air courses much faster. The sooner the air courses are restored the faster the methane disappates. There's been zero mention of the methane levels and that's important as it's only explosive in the 5.6-16% range.

The mine safety record sucks. http://msha.gov/drs/ASP/MineAction.asp

So many violations are in indication of disaster. I mined once for a part of a summer, never again. Nothing has frightened me more in my life.

If an accident like that had happened in the UK hundreds of rescurers woiuld have flooded in and head the main headings cleared by now.

Was it a coal mine?

I once worked with a old timer about 70yrs old at the time,he had some real horror storys of the mines in Nova Scotia.Makes one gratefull to work up above.Many prayers for the familys.70 hrs last time in Penn. to pull those miners out

It is sad. I said a prayer for them when I saw it on the news. I hope they get out soon!

Just heard that 12 of the 13 have been rescued after, tragically, one had been found deceased. A bittersweet ending to an all-too-familiar tragedy - I remember seeing stories like these in the paper when I was a kid in the late '60s.

Edited by CE Geek 2006-01-04 2:46 AM

Oh, this is terrible. I just heard on the news that there was a miscommunication from the mine company, and that in fact the numbers are reversed: 12 deceased, one survivor in critical condition. I can't help thinking about all those happy faces shown on the news - now, after being told that their loved ones were rescued alive, have to hear the absolute last thing that they could have expected: that their loved ones are instead dead.

It's difficult to think of a worse way to find out.

One minute celebrations that your loved one is alive, and then 3 hours later the terrible news that the numbers were utterly, hopelessly wrong.

There seems to be no small amount of confusion as to how the good news came out: an official of the mine said, "What happened is that through stray cellphone conversations it appears that this miscommunication from the rescue team underground to the command centre was picked up by various people... was relayed through cellphone communications without our ever having made a release.

Weird. And tragic.

I used to work in similar mines in Ky. These are "drift" mines and for the most part are above the water table. The incidence of methane is very low, if ventilation is maintained.

It seems likely, from the time of the explosion ( after a prolonged shut down) and the high levels of CO, the indication is a dust explosion, followed by a smoldering fire.

Many of these small mines will turn off the fans during holidays or won't have anyone around to restart them if the power trips. If someone fired the fan up just a few minutes before the mantrips took off, it is possible that the sudden movement of air could have sent a lot of dust into the airstream. If that happens, any spark can set off the dust, such as a spark from the trolly cable.

During the 10 years I spent underground I set off the dust lying on the continuos miner 4 or 5 times. These were small flashes ignited by the rippers striking sulfer balls (iron pyrite deposits).

Coal mining is very dangerous, especially in smaller mines. They usually are very poorly equipped as far as breathing aperatus.

I used to work in similar mines in Ky. These are "drift" mines and for the most part are above the water table. The incidence of methane is very low, if ventilation is maintained.

It seems likely, from the time of the explosion ( after a prolonged shut down) and the high levels of CO, the indication is a dust explosion, followed by a smoldering fire.

Many of these small mines will turn off the fans during holidays or won't have anyone around to restart them if the power trips. If someone fired the fan up just a few minutes before the mantrips took off, it is possible that the sudden movement of air could have sent a lot of dust into the airstream. If that happens, any spark can set off the dust, such as a spark from the trolly cable.

During the 10 years I spent underground I set off the dust lying on the continuos miner 4 or 5 times. These were small flashes ignited by the rippers striking sulfer balls (iron pyrite deposits).

Coal mining is very dangerous, especially in smaller mines. They usually are very poorly equipped as far as breathing aperatus.

During the conference with ICG the fan question was asked and I thought the reply came too quickly and was too patent. A dust expolsion was my first thought as well. As soon as the Joy was fired up it hit pyrites or there was an electrical fault somewhere, igniting the dust. On second thought the men bratticed themselves at the face so the explosion was perhaps at the transfer point, a very dusty area in many mines.

Was I ever surprised to see the mine plan and the main roadways driven parallel to an abandoned mine. I thought there was a large margin (200 yds) that had to be maintained between workings?

Does anyone know if Ben Hatfield is related to the famous Sid Hatfield from the 1930's Matewan incident?

I hope the official inquiry is thorough and honest. I feel for the familes affected. Everyone has to earn a living and coal mining men are much braver than I. Everyone is due an account of what really happened.

I remember several Ben Hatfileds form the Matewan area. I was married to one of Sid's cousins grandaughters. She was a great-great grandaughter of Devil Anse Hatfield. The Hatfield and McCoy families are very well represented in the entire coal industry of W.Va. and Ky.

The movie, " Matewan" is a pretty accurate depiction of those times. I have talked to several "old timers" that were involved in all of those struggles to organize the mineworkers. My grandfather spent 47 years in the mines, 11 years were after he lost his right arm to a "company man".

It is hard to explain how dusty drift mines get during winter to someone that has not been there.

The focus in the mining industry right now is the shortage of labor. Young men look at their fathers, uncles and grandfathers and figure that $40k a year isn't enough for the abuse suffered. The companies and MSHA preach safety, yet every miner is coal black when he comes out of the mine. Everyone has family members that have black lung, missing fingers etc. The truth is, low coal mining destroys a man by the time he is 45-50 years old. I worked in 48" or less seams for 10 years. 2 years were working as helper on an old Wilcox miner in a 27" seam of coal. Let someone drag you over a mile on a piece of conveyor belt and then work like a slave on the pyramids for 8 or 9 hours, for $100.00 a day. I have black lung and physical problems that will pro'lly see me to the grave.

I was lucky enough to get out in the early 80's and never looked back. It meant going away from home for the better part of 20 years, but it beats working under a mountain.

I never imagined I'd ever come in contact with someone with ties to the Hatfields. It's amazing. This internet thingie has expanded my horizons exponentially. I generally watch Matewan every year or so as a sombre reminder of what our ancestors faced in general to give us better lives.



I'd go absolutely crazy in a low coal seam with my problem with confined spaces. The youth of today don't have the slighest idea of working hardship. If they all had to spend a summer in low coal I'm sure they'd have a much better attitude towards life. That, and ask a kid where electricity comes from and the answer is "the plug on the wall." If they only thought it through.

After doing a lot of reading I don't think the investigation or MSHA will do much more than rubber stamp the accident, then it's back to business. Long term, I wouldn't be surprised to see immigrant labour mining coal, just as it was 100 years ago.

Good thing you got out. Hopefully there's lots of good hpc experimenting years ahead of you!

It is just so sad that the news said 12 miners alive and one deceased and then it turns out to be the opposite... To lift people's hearts like that and then go down must really mess up a person...

Like many other locals, I hardly ever think about the old feud. Those folks made the Italian vendetta look like a playground squabble. The troubles lasted from the Civil War till the coal labor troubles, nearly 65 years. Even though the killings were over the coarse of a few years the fights etc. lasted a long time.

Most of the landmarks around Matewan were destroyed by the 1977 flood. I actually lived on one of Sid's brother's old farm from '76 to '79.

The big draw to the area now is the Hatfield/ McCoy off road trail system. They now have several hundred miles of trails open to the public, in Logan and Mingo counties. More trails are scheduled to open on the Ky. side of the river soon. We have tourists coming from all over the U.S. and Canada to ride the mountain trails.

So the MSHA investigation team isn't going to enter the mine until mid-next week because they need to lower the methane levels. A proper ventilation system should exchange the mine air every few minutes. If it's not doing that then a repair team is sent in. If the repair miners are in there restoring stoppings there's no reason the MSHA team can't be in at the same time.

Call me skeptical for the moment. IMO, someone's stalling for no good reason.