Miners trapped in blast
Thirteen US miners were trapped today in an underground explosion at a coal mine in Tallmansville, West Virginia.
The explosion happened about 8am. (1pm Irish time) at the Sago Mine in Upshur County, said Steve Milligan, deputy director of the county’s Office of Emergency Management.
Six miners made it out of the mine and refused treatment.
The trapped miners’ condition was not immediately known as an attempt by rescuers to reach them was unsuccessful, Milligan said.
“They essentially came to a wall,” Milligan said. “So they can’t get to them at this time.”
The mine, in north-central West Virginia, is about 100 miles from Charleston.
In September 2001, 13 coal miners were killed in a series of explosions at a mine in Brookwood, Alabama. Ten miners had rushed in to rescue co-workers injured by an explosion, only to be killed themselves by a second blast. That was the worst US mining accident since December 19, 1984, when fire killed 27 coal miners near Orangeville, Utah.
