Deadly mine blast rocks W. Va.

April 6, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

MONTCOAL, W. VA.

Rescuers converged late Monday night on a remote coal mine where seven workers were killed and 19 missing deep underground after an explosion rocked the operation that has a history of violations for not properly ventilating highly combustible methane gas, safety officials said.

The blast occurred around 3 p.m. at Massey Energy Co.’s sprawling Upper Big Branch as nine miners on a vehicle that takes them in and out of the long shaft were leaving, said Kevin Stricklin, an administrator from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. Stricklin said a crew ahead of the vehicle felt a blast of air and went back in to find out what happened.

They found nine workers, seven of whom were dead. Two others were hurt and in the hospital, officials said. Stricklin said 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. Officials don’t believe a roof collapsed, said Stricklin, who is administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health.

Nine rescue crews usually made up of six members each were at the scene about 30 miles south of Charleston, said federal Mine Safety and Health Administration spokeswoman Amy Louviere. It was unclear whether the mine was safe enough for rescuers to enter and look for the trapped men.

“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 seam 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.