Last Saturday evening, the community of Harlan County, Kentucky held a coal miners memorial service to remember the five men who died as a result of the May 20 explosion at the state’s Darby operation, according to local online newspaper Kentucky.com. It also served to remember three other of the area’s miners killed since August of last year.

The event was hosted by former mine official Kenny Johnson, as well as industry advocate Tony Oppegard, the report said.

“I hope we can work together to prevent future disasters,” said area US Representative Ben Chandler during the service. “We must allow them (the miners’ deaths) to inspire us to improve safety for coal miners so other communities will not have to endure what you have gone through.”

On Sunday, a memorial etched with the faces of the 12 miners killed in the Sago mine explosion was dedicated near the church where the workers’ loved ones waited for news after the January incident.

The service was attended by ICG mine officials Ben Hatfield and Gene Kitts, and West Virginia governor Joe Manchin offered an address to the large crowd, according to local newspaper the Charleston Gazette. The road leading to the mine was also renamed “Coal Miners’ Memorial Roadway” and dedicated to honour the group.

Manchin, who said that the memorial should not just serve as a remembrance of the 12 men, but also to remind everyone about the commitment to making mines and other workplaces safer, the report said.

“We have made changes,” he said to the crowd. “The whole country has made changes. But there is much more to do.”