The last deceased miner was taken from the portal at about 10:26am local time Wednesday. The only miner still living, 27-year-old Randal McCloy, is in a West Virginia hospital recovering from severe dehydration and a collapsed lung. He was found “by the sounds of moans,” according to reports.
The miners who lost their lives in the Sago mine accident include Alva Martin Barrett, 50; Jim Bennett, 61; Jerry Groves, 57; David Lewis, 28; Martin Toler, 50; and Fred Ware Jr, 59, according to the Associated Press. Many of the group were mining veterans.
The body of the 13th miner, believed to be Terry Helms, 50, was recovered Monday evening from an area near the belt drive in another portion of the mine. The miners were the first regular production workers entering after a holiday shutdown. Their bodies were found about 260ft under the surface and 13,000ft into the mine.
MSHA district manager Kevin Stricklin also told local newspaper the Charleston Gazette that it was unlikely the machinery had been restarted before the explosion and said “We don’t think they made it to the face”
The news of the deaths was a tragic turn of events after news spread about 11:50pm Tuesday evening that the twelve miners had been found alive.
Families and friends of the trapped miners were gathered in a local church where word quickly spread that the remaining 12 miners were alive. This rumor spread to the church from the command centre where the initial communication from the rescue team that they had found 12 survivors was apparently misunderstood.
The gathered crowd rejoiced for nearly 3 hours before officials, led by company chief Ben Hatfield and West Virginia governor Joe Manchin, informed them that the earlier reports were false and there was only one survivor.
In a press conference held at 3:00pm Wednesday afternoon, Hatfield detailed the timeline of events and claimed that at no time had the company made any official statements that there were multiple survivors and called earlier reports of survivors a “miscommunication.”
Investigations into the cause of the explosion and the subsequent deaths of the miners began late Wednesday in a joint effort between ICG officials and representatives of the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the West Virginia Department of Mine Health and Safety.
MSHA acting assistant secretary David Dye released a statement on behalf of the agency late Wednesday stating the investigation will look further into the details of the incident “to determine what caused the explosion and whether any safety and health standards were violated. Then we can take effective action to prevent such tragedies in the future”. A MSHA investigative team will be established to perform the work, he said.
In addition, Dye and US secretary of labor Elaine Chao also made statements regarding the accident, hoping future workers’ lives can be saved through what is learned through the inquiry.
Sago was cited 208 times in 2005 for safety violations, according to reports - a number that could increase following MSHA’s examination of the incident. It was given 68 citations in 2004.
West Virginia-based ICG, led by New York billionaire Wilbur Ross, assumed ownership of the mine last year when it purchased the mine owner, Anker Coal, and CoalQuest Development in a $US275 million deal.
ICG has organised the Sago Mine Fund to provide financial support to the victims’ families and will provide the Fund with an initial contribution of $US2 million. People who wish to contribute to the Fund may do so by calling 1-212-826-2174.
