Posted on 01/21/2006 2:10:00 PM PST by 2111USMC
Edited on 01/21/2006 2:22:59 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
>MELVILLE, W.Va. — Rescuers on Saturday found the bodies of two coal miners who disappeared after a conveyor belt caught fire deep inside a coal mine.
The bodies of Don I. Bragg, 33, and Ellery Hatfield, 47, were found in an area of the mine where rescue teams had been battling the fire for more than 40 hours.
"We have found the two miners we were looking for," said , director of the state Office of Miners' Health Training and Safety. "Unfortunately we don't have a positive outcome."
The miners became separated Thursday evening as their 12-member crew tried to escape a conveyor belt fire at Aracoma Coal's Alma No. 1 mine in Melville, about 60 miles southwest of . The rest of the crew and nine other miners working in a different section of the mine escaped unharmed.
Gov. and U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller informed families of the deaths at a church prior to making the announcement, along with Don Blankenship, chairman of the mine's owner, Massey Energy.
The bodies are not even buried yet and the dems are dancing on these people's grief and gearing up to use this against Bush and the Republicans in Congress. I am sure the American people are going to be turned off by it...mark my word.
I am sure you are correct...someone posted that KENNEDY was there???
Oh, please...he won't allow wind farms in site from his compound...or drilling in ANWR...but, he is gonna get photo-ops on these poor mens bodies...
THE are saying changes need to be made...I say that Rocky and Byrd need to go....
What you said earlier...I have been posting on almost every thread lately...about how much I hate the knee-jerk aspect of the our Congresscritters....anything and everthing that happens anymore causes Congress to HURRY for a FIX...and money to do it...is just thrown at them..
One could wonder why Byrd and Rockefeller didn't do something about the minds years ago.
I don't suppose there are any minds named "Byrd" or "Rockefeller" though.
"Is someone trying to close the mines because they want the land or what???"
The libs have succeeded in states like CT to ban the burning of coal for generation of electricity. Could this be part of a push to shutdown coal at its source to achieve the same goal?
Point taken. My anger over Rockefeller's obvious posturing got the best of me.
But make no mistake where this is headed. We can discuss the inevitable Congressional dog-and-pony show at a later date.
For now, prayers going out to all involved.
What could we do? A couple of things.
I've often wondered why there isn't some sort of electronic tracking system to find the guys in the mines. If we can track an aircraft halfway across the world, why can't we find a miner in a mine?
Why are the rescue breathers only good for an hour? Can't we do better? And if not, why don't they have oxygen stations throughout the mines? They should.
I have friends who work in that mine, and they deserve to be safer. I know there is an inherent level of danger in mining, and I've known three good men who have died in roof falls over the past thirty years. IN fact, the first time in my young life when I had to deal with the concept of death was, when my next door neighbor was killed in a roof fall in 1972.
We can do a lot more to make these guys jobs a lot safer. I am a strict, hard line conservative ladies and gents, but I can tell you one thing. There are many mining companies in this state that wouldn't spend half of what they spend NOW on safety if it weren't for state and federal regs that force them to do so.
Please excuse me, they were here yesterday, Friday.
21 died in 2004, which was the lowest year on record; 32 in 2005.
Did you hear Gregg Jarrett...before she came on?
OMG...I thought he was going to cry....but it got so sickening..he just kept on and on.
Oh...dang...we need a "rational energy policy"...right...he must be from the Coal lobby!!!
Good point (assuming you meant 'mines' and not minds. Byrd and Rocky lost their minds years ago...lol
I'm having trouble spelling today for some reason.
Geez, looking at that, I'm having trouble THINKING, too! :-)
May the Lord rest their souls, and comfort their families.
OK. I apologize.
Oh...right...supposedly Byrd has his name all over everything in West Virgina...but, a coal mine???
Julie just asked Kasich why Rocky was getting mad NOW...instead of before these accidents...Julie, I suggest you contact Rocky and Bryd and ask them.
no biggie, I do it all the time. (wink)
Oh, and I forgot
Why do we need to fly rescue teams in from Illinois, a task that takes six hours, when we could have teams on standby here in West Virginia?
Good points. However, aren't mine deaths and injuries the lowest they have ever been historically?
Maybe the good folks in W. Virginia ought to ask their dem senators why they did not do anything about the issues you raised years ago.
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