News
Up to 30 rescuers ready to go in to mine
By: cnn.comPosted On: 04/07/2010 12:50 P
An extra hole will be drilled as part of efforts to ventilate a West Virginia coal mine enough to allow up to 30 rescuers access to where four miners are believed to be following a deadly explosion, officials said Wednesday.
The extra hole will be alongside two others drilled on the surface over where the miners are believed to be.
The first of those holes broke through early Wednesday, and the second is about 500 feet deep -- about halfway complete, West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin said.
Five holes will be drilled into the mine. One is for monitoring conditions inside the mine. Officials want to make sure the air is cleared and rescuers can gain access to the area before they begin efforts to signal any miners who may still be alive underground.
The officials said they're concerned the miners, if alive and in a rescue chamber, will come out if they hear noise and want to make sure the conditions will support them.
"The rescue teams are prepared," Manchin told reporters. "They're charged up, ready to go."
Carl Accord, 52
Jason Atkins, 25
Robert E. Clark, 41
Steven J. Harrah, 40
William R. Lynch, 59
Deward Allan Scott, 58
Benny Ray Willingham, 61
The holes are aimed at ventilating the mine after high levels of methane and carbon monoxide forced rescue teams back early Tuesday because of the threat of another explosion. The pipes were being withdrawn from the hole, and a high-pressure exhaust fan will begin to pull the bad air out of the mine, Manchin said.
Officials said they believe they will know later Wednesday or early Thursday whether the air has been cleared enough to send rescue teams back in.
"Today's going to be a big day," Manchin said. "I think at the end of the day, we'll have more knowledge than we have right now."
Do you live near the mine or know one of the victims? Let us know
Twenty-five miners died in Monday's blast. Two others were hospitalized, officials said, and four are unaccounted for. Asked about the conditions of the hospitalized miners, the governor said he did not know.
Authorities believe they know where three of the unaccounted-for miners were working at the time and think they may know the whereabouts of the fourth as well, officials have said. Chris Adkins, chief operating officer of Massey Energy Co., which owns the mine, predicted Tuesday it would take rescuers no more than five hours to find them once air levels in the mine become safe.
Hope remained abundant early Wednesday that the four might still be alive.
"We're still looking for survivors," said Kevin Stricklin of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. "It's still a rescue operation. It's not a recovery operation."
Bore hole No. 2 was at a depth of about 500 feet early Wednesday, Manchin said, and the third hole was about 100 feet down.
Families of the miners were anxiously awaiting news, the governor said, adding that some had stayed near the scene all night.
Thirty-one miners were working in the mine at the time of the blast Monday afternoon, Adkins said.
The bodies of seven miners were removed. Officials have said 18 more bodies were found underground but not removed as rescue teams were focused on finding anyone still alive.
Rescue crews, before having to turn back, were attempting to reach the mine's airtight rescue chambers. In a disaster, miners are trained to enter the chambers, which are stocked with four days' worth of food and water.
In addition, the crews noticed a number of self-contained rescue breathing devices had been taken from storage areas, fueling hope that any survivors may have taken them en route to the chambers.
However, Stricklin on Tuesday expressed skepticism that any of the miners were able to reach the chambers, citing the suddenness of the blast and its strength.
While the cause of Monday's blast remained unknown, the deaths turned a harsh spotlight on the safety record of Massey, which has paid record fines for safety and environmental violations.
Massey CEO Don Blankenship on Tuesday expressed puzzlement over what could have caused the blast.
"I think everyone thought we had proper ventilation," Blankenship said. "Of course, we don't know 100 percent sure what happened yet, so we can't speculate on it."
He said Massey's mines "are typically in better shape than others that are in our area or in the country. ... Our creativity on safety is second to none."
The company operates 44 underground and surface mines and controls 2.2 billion tons of coal reserves in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee.
Three other deaths have occurred in the mine in 12 years. This year alone, the mine was cited for more than 100 safety violations, including ventilation violations, according to Mine Safety and Health Administration records.
"Clearly, there were red flags here, and the safety record was not very enviable," said Tony Oppegard, an attorney who represents coal miners in safety-related issues. "And those types of citations really show a culture that is not committed to safety and not committed to protecting the miners who work there."
U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-West Virginia, said the mine appears to be a "bad apple, there's no question about it, because of the history of violations, including as late as March 30 of this year."
He said Massey has a "rather maverick reputation" and has pulled itself out of organizations, including the West Virginia Mining Association, but did acknowledge the company's charitable contributions and its community efforts -- providing jobs and support for the economy.
Rahall said, "Most responsible mine operators want to do a better job. They want to prevent accidents. They do not want to cut corners. They do not want to shortchange a miner's life in exchange for the bottom-line profit."
Monday's explosion at the mine, about 30 miles south of Charleston, West Virginia, was the deadliest U.S. mining disaster in 25 years. State and federal officials have pledged a full investigation into its cause.
People associated with Massey Energy, including Blankenship, have donated more than $307,000 to federal candidates since the 1990 election cycle, with 91 percent going to Republican candidates, according to an analysis from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics watchdog group.
The political activity Massey and Blankenship are best known for involved spending $3 million in 2004 to support a campaign by Brent Benjamin, who successfully ran for the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
Massey was involved in a business dispute with a rival mining company, and a jury in 2002 awarded the other firm, Harman Mining, $50 million.
Massey waited four years to appeal the decision. In 2006, Benjamin refused to recuse himself from the appeal and then voted to overturn the jury's verdict.
The case made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled last year that Benjamin should have recused himself.
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