Randy McCloy, 27, in critical condition at a local hospital, has been cofirmed as the only survivor.

The miners were trapped for almost two days after a mine explosion on January 2. Rescuers had been searching the mine for 41 hours to find the men.

News that 12 had survived was broken to the miner’s relatives about 11:30pm local time Wednesday morning, just hours after reports that the body of one miner had been found by rescue crews.

Approximately three hours later, parent company International Coal Group announced that 12 of the 13 trapped miners were dead, calling previous reports of survival a "miscommunication" and said that the company never formally announced that 12 were alive.

International Coal Group president Ben Hatfield said at a national press conference he knew the fate of the workers within about 20 minutes and that an error was made with regard to previous news that the group had survived. "We couldn't correct the information without knowing more about it," he said.

"This is certainly not the outcome that we had hoped for and prayed for. There was a great deal of confusion between the rescue teams...the information got misinterpreted or miscommunicated."

The manbus the crew took was located, relatively unscathed, approximately 11,200ft down the shaft near the mine's "second left" entry, but no workers were found in or around it. Hatfield said in an earlier conference he felt the group left the car "on their own power" to another area of the operation.

Little hope the 12 missing miners would be found alive was held after lethal levels of carbon monoxide and hours well beyond the maximum capacity for emergency oxygen rescuers following the explosion had passed.

The accident, for which a cause is still unknown but may be related to a lightning strike, occurred sometime after 6am EST Monday as the first regular crews entered the mine following a holiday shutdown.

UPDATE Tuesday 9.30pm local time: ONE miner has been recovered and 12 others are still missing at the Sago mine following Monday’s explosion, International Coal Group president Ben Hatfield announced at a national press conference held at about 9:10pm local time.

The worker has not yet been identified or brought to the surface, as crews are still underground searching for the remainder of the missing.

The manbus the crew took was located, relatively unscathed, approximately 11,200ft down the shaft near the mine’s “second left” entry but no workers were found in or around it.

The body found earlier Tuesday evening was located about 700ft from the bus, Hatfield said, and the remainder of the group, he believes, may have fled “on their own power” to another area of the operation.

The ICG executive also said that seals that isolated another part of the mine had been broken and damaged, releasing toxic gases into the mining area.

UPDATE Tuesday 8.30pm local time: LETHAL levels of carbon monoxide and hours well beyond the maximum capacity for emergency oxygen rescuers leave little hope 13 miners trapped in West Virginia’s Sago mine will be found alive after a January 2 explosion.

The group, experts said, is believed to be about 260ft below the surface at the end of a 2 mile-long shaft at the operation in Tallmansville, about an hour northeast of Charleston.

There has been no contact with them since the incident.

“With each hour that passes, the likelihood of a successful outcome diminishes,” mine owner International Coal Group president Ben Hatfield told the media at a national press conference held at about 5:15pm local time Tuesday. “It will take a miracle – but miracles happen.”

The accident, for which a cause is still unknown but may be related to a lightning strike, occurred sometime after 6am EST Monday as the first regular crews entered the mine following a holiday shutdown.

Vibrations as far as 5 miles away could be felt following the explosion, according to local television news reports and interviews.

Early Tuesday, attempts by the US Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) mine rescue robot were idled after poor mine floor quality, debris and mud kept it from progressing into the entry.

Teams were also in the process of completing the second of two boreholes, which stopped just short of the mine roof and cannot penetrate until rescue crews have safely left – an effort which ICG and the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) felt was showing “significant progress” at the time of the conference.

Earlier carbon monoxide tests were “discouraging”, said Hatfield, showing lethal concentrations.

Rescue crews had reached a depth of approximately 11,200ft into the mine shaft at that time, Hatfield said, or about 1-2000ft from where they anticipated the miners’ location to be.

There remain several rescue teams on hand, including groups from Consol’s Bailey, Enlow Fork and Eighty Four operations.

MSHA said this morning that it was working in conjunction with ICG and mine rescue teams in efforts to locate the workers. “MSHA specialists, mine rescue personnel and equipment will remain on site around the clock until these miners are accounted for.”

Crews also attempted to drop a camera down to investigate the area, but that effort was also unsuccessful. “No barricades or survivors were seen, but there was also no evidence of substantial explosion damage to the installed equipment that was in view,” said Hatfield.

He added experts and rescue teams would continue searching for the group as long as it takes and would only conclude “when all hope is lost”.

“I've never been involved with a mine disaster anywhere remotely approaching this magnitude. This is a sad day for all of us,” he told reporters.