SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2010
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The Nation
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IT’S TIME HIGHER EDUCATION CHANGED WITH IT.
LINDA DAVIDSON/THE WASHINGTON POST
William Hapney, who worked with some of the men who died in the Upper Big Branch mine, is comforted by his wife, Michelle.
Hopes dashed, a grim recovery begins
Last missing miners found dead; U.S., state prepare to probe blast
associated press
montcoal, w.va. — Crews on
Saturday began the bleak task of carrying bodies out of a coal mine shattered by an explosion that left 29 men dead, only hours after families’ hopes were crushed when rescuers found the bodies of the last four missing miners. It had been an excruciating week for loved ones waiting for word that the missing miners might somehow have survived. Seven bodies had already been removed soon after the blast Monday at Massey Energy’s Up- per Big Branch mine, the worst U.S. coal mining disaster since a 1970 explosion killed 38 in Hy- den, Ky. The discovery of the last four bodies ended days of futile searches by rescue crews, who re- peatedly battled a volatile mix of poisonous gases and thick smoke that turned them back on three previous attempts. The massive blast also left the inside of the mine a mess of twisted tracks, boulders and debris. “We did not receive the mira-
cle that we prayed for,” West Vir- ginia Gov. Joe Manchin said after meeting with relatives to deliver the news. “So this journey has ended and now the healing will start.” In a statement, President Oba- ma called for a thorough in- vestigation and said that, in the memory of those killed, the country should “demand ac- countability.” “All Americans deserve to work in a place that is safe, and we must take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that all our miners are as safe as possible so that a disaster like this doesn’t happen again,” Obama said. Obama is awaiting a report on
Soon after the blast Monday, 25 men were known to have per- ished and two survived. That left four unaccounted for, resulting in an agonizing weeklong wait for relatives and officials who held onto faint hopes that the miners had managed to make their way to refuge chambers stocked with food, water and oxygen. But none of the mine’s refuge chambers had been de- ployed. Twenty-eight of the dead were
MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES
Massey employees, and one was a contract worker, a company spokesman said. A complete list of victims was not released, though several were known through obituaries and informa- tion families released. Conditions were so rough after the blast that rescuers only late Friday realized that they had walked past the bodies of the four missing miners on the first day without seeing them, a feder- al mine safety official said. “There was so much smoke and the conditions were so dire with dust in the air that they ap- parently bypassed the bodies that were on the ground,” said Kevin Stricklin, the MSHA’s coal administrator.
Once the bodies are recovered, MSHA and West Virginia reg- ulators plan a joint investigation that could take as long as a year, Stricklin said. “No stone will be left unturned
LINDA DAVIDSON/THE WASHINGTON POST
Top, West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin wipes away tears as federal official Kevin Stricklin speaks to reporters. Above, Mickie Green, left, and Jennie Bennett view a memorial display.
what happened at the mine, which has recorded a long list of safety violations, and Congress is planning hearings. Federal Mine Safety and Health Administra- tion spokeswoman Amy Lou- viere said officials would arrive Monday to begin investigating the disaster. On Saturday, the mood among
many people in this swath of coal country was somber. While watching the official announce- ment on television, Patty Ann Manios, a city councilwoman from nearby Whitesville, took off her glasses and started to weep. “Oh God. Oh God,” she said. “They didn’t know what hit them.”
and we’ll find out the cause of this explosion,” Stricklin said. “Quite frankly, the only good thing that can come out of this is to educate everyone, put reg- ulations in place to make sure that this never happens again.” Officials have not said what caused the blast, but they believe high levels of methane gas may have played a role. Massey chief executive Don
Blankenship, who was with the families when they learned the miners were dead, has strongly defended the company’s record and disputed accusations from miners that he puts coal profits ahead of safety.
LINDA DAVIDSON/THE WASHINGTON POST
Tim Lawson raises his hands in praise as he and other members of the mining community attend a candlelight vigil.
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