04/01/2006

Anger as one survives US mine disaster

Relatives of US miners, who were trapped in a West Virginia coal mine, have expressed anger after it emerged all but one man had died.

Families of 12 of the miners had been celebrating at the local Baptist church in the town of Sago, after they were told at midnight (05:00 GMT) that 12 of the 13 miners, trapped following an underground explosion, had survived. However, joy turned to anger and grief just three hours later when it emerged that only one of the miners had survived.

Ben Hatfield, president of the International Coal Group, said that a “mis-communication” had occurred when mobile phone conversations between the rescue team and command centre had been overheard.

He confirmed that only one man, 27-year-old Randall McCloy, had survived and had been taken to hospital, where he is in a critical condition.

The explosion took place around 06:30am local time on Monday morning at the Sago mine, trapping 13 miners. On Tuesday, the body of one of the miners was found, while the other 12 remained missing.

It is believed that the 12 men survived the explosion, but were overcome by deadly carbon monoxide fumes. They were discovered behind a barricade they had constructed in an attempt to block the toxic fumes.

The cause of the explosion is still unknown and an investigation by federal and state mine regulators will take place.

(KMcA)

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