Toll in US mine blast reaches 25
Source: Agencies |
April 7, 2010, Wednesday
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AT least 25 miners were killed as an explosion ripped through a United States coal mine, making it the country's worst mining disaster in more than two decades, officials said yesterday as they worked to clear the mine of poisonous gases so they could try to find four missing miners.
Rescuers began drilling three deep holes to vent methane and carbon monoxide from the mine, but it would take until evening to get the first hole done and see if the mine air will allow rescue teams to enter, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin said.
The blast rocked Massey Energy Co's sprawling Upper Big Branch mine, about 50 kilometers south of Charleston, West Virginia, on Monday afternoon.
Manchin said that while drilling on at least one of the three holes was slated to begin soon, it would take about 12 hours before the drilling was complete and rescue teams could be sure of their safety in the mine.
"It's going to be a long day and we're not going to have a lot of information until we can get the first hole through," Manchin said.
The drills need to bore through about 335 meters of earth and rock, he said.
"All we have left is hope, and we're going to continue to do what we can," Kevin Stricklin, an administrator for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, said at a news conference. "But I'm just trying to be honest with everybody and say that the situation does look dire."
Though the cause of the blast was not known, the operation run by Massey subsidiary Performance Coal Co has a history of violations for not properly ventilating highly combustible methane gas.
Stricklin said officials had hoped some of the missing survived the blast and were able to reach airtight chambers stocked with food, water and enough oxygen for them to live for four days. However, rescue teams checked one of two nearby and it was empty. The buildup of toxic methane gas - a constant problem at the mine - and of carbon monoxide prevented teams from reaching other chambers, officials said.
A total of 31 miners were in the area during a shift change when the blast happened, officials said. Some may have died in the blast and others when they breathed in the gas-filled air, Stricklin said. Eleven bodies had been recovered and identified, but the other 14 have not, said Manchin.
Names weren't released publicly, but Manchin said three of the dead are all members of the same family.
(AP)
Rescuers began drilling three deep holes to vent methane and carbon monoxide from the mine, but it would take until evening to get the first hole done and see if the mine air will allow rescue teams to enter, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin said.
The blast rocked Massey Energy Co's sprawling Upper Big Branch mine, about 50 kilometers south of Charleston, West Virginia, on Monday afternoon.
Manchin said that while drilling on at least one of the three holes was slated to begin soon, it would take about 12 hours before the drilling was complete and rescue teams could be sure of their safety in the mine.
"It's going to be a long day and we're not going to have a lot of information until we can get the first hole through," Manchin said.
The drills need to bore through about 335 meters of earth and rock, he said.
"All we have left is hope, and we're going to continue to do what we can," Kevin Stricklin, an administrator for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, said at a news conference. "But I'm just trying to be honest with everybody and say that the situation does look dire."
Though the cause of the blast was not known, the operation run by Massey subsidiary Performance Coal Co has a history of violations for not properly ventilating highly combustible methane gas.
Stricklin said officials had hoped some of the missing survived the blast and were able to reach airtight chambers stocked with food, water and enough oxygen for them to live for four days. However, rescue teams checked one of two nearby and it was empty. The buildup of toxic methane gas - a constant problem at the mine - and of carbon monoxide prevented teams from reaching other chambers, officials said.
A total of 31 miners were in the area during a shift change when the blast happened, officials said. Some may have died in the blast and others when they breathed in the gas-filled air, Stricklin said. Eleven bodies had been recovered and identified, but the other 14 have not, said Manchin.
Names weren't released publicly, but Manchin said three of the dead are all members of the same family.
(AP)
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