Rescue teams poised to re-enter US disaster mine
Hopes were fading today for four miners missing in a US pit after a massive explosion that killed 25 others.
Rescue teams hope to return underground after bore holes have been drilled to clear toxic gases from Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia.
“All we have left is hope, and we’re going to continue to do what we can,” Kevin Stricklin of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said.
“But I’m just trying to be honest with everybody and say that the situation does look dire.”
Although the cause of the blast was not known, the operation run by Performance Coal has a history of not properly ventilating highly combustible methane gas, safety officials said.
Mr Stricklin said there were hopes some of the missing survived the initial blast yesterday 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.
A total of 29 miners were in the area during a shift change when the blast happened.
Some may have died in the blast and others when they breathed in the gas-filled air.
Seven bodies have been recovered and identified, but the other 18 have not.
It is the worst US mine accident since 1984, when 27 died in a fire in Orangeville, Utah. If the four missing bring the total to 29, it would be the worst since a 1970 explosion killed 38 in Hyden, Kentucky.
Massey Energy which owns the mine is a publicly traded company based in Richmond, Virginia, and has 2.2 billion tons of coal reserves in southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, south-west Virginia and Tennessee.
It ranks among the nation’s top five coal producers and is among the industry’s most profitable but has a chequered safety record.
In the past year federal inspectors fined the company more than $380,000 (€283,000) for repeated serious violations involving its ventilation plan and equipment at Upper Big Branch. The violations also cover failing to follow the plan, allowing combustible coal dust to pile up, and having improper firefighting equipment.
Upper Big Branch has had three other fatalities in the last dozen years.
Methane is one of the great dangers of coal mining, and federal records say the Eagle coal seam releases up to two million cubic feet of the gas into the Upper Big Branch mine every 24 hours.
In mines, giant fans are used to keep the colourless, odourless gas concentrations below certain levels. If concentrations are allowed to build up, the gas can explode with a spark roughly similar to the static charge created by walking across a carpet in winter.
