Posted on 01/02/2006 12:28:47 PM PST by xcamel
TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. Jan 2, 2006 — A coal mine explosion that may have been sparked by lightning trapped 13 miners underground Monday, officials said.
The mine had been idle over the holiday and the explosion occurred as the first shift of miners entered to resume production, said Lara Ramsburg, spokeswoman for Gov. Joe Manchin.
"As they were heading in, the car in the back either heard or felt some type of explosion. They headed back out. The first car never made it back out," she said.
Four co-workers attempted to reach the missing miners, but they "came to a wall" of debris, said Steve Milligan, deputy director of Upshur County's Office of Emergency Management.
Hours later, mine rescue teams had not been able to enter the mine because gasses were still venting and it was too dangerous to go in, said Sam Kitts, vice president of operations for International Coal Group Inc., which owns the mine through its recent purchase of Anker West Virginia Mining Co.
The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration dispatched a rescue robot to the mine, which is about 100 miles northeast of Charleston in the north-central part of the state.
The explosion knocked out the mine's communication equipment and company officials had not been able to make contact with the miners, said spokesman Greg Brunnhuber.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, but Ramsburg said officials believed it may have been caused by a lightning strike. A series of severe thunderstorms moved through West Virginia early Monday.
Officials originally placed the time of the explosion at 8 a.m., but Ramsburg said it happened between 6 and 6:30 a.m.
Co-workers and relatives of those trapped gathered at the Sago Baptist Church, across the road from the mining complex.
Anna Simpson said her husband, Randall, 27, was among those missing.
She said he had worked at the mine for three years "but was looking to get out. It was too dangerous."
Miners who work in the mine carry individual air purifying systems that would give them up to seven hours of clean air, said Tim McGee, who works at the mine and was among the 200 people at the church.
Prayers going up.
God help us all.
Prayers for those folks...this sounds much worse than the last time some were trapped.
Prayer going upward in faith believing HE Shall save all in a tough spot currently and as help is able to arrive and get everyone out.
Did you do a search. Already posted with thousands of views.
Yes, I did, except the PMSNBC headline was a real stretch (Miners? Explosion?) nooooo... that would be too easy.
Prayers for them and their families.
I don't know what you're talking about, but I searched on "13" and the original post came right up.
Look at the time of my post. at that time 27 were listed missing, not 13.
now move on, I realize it's a dupe, and got over it.
Whenever I post a dupe, I ask the Admin Mods to delete it.
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