A report released by the state’s Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training has cited Massey foremen Christopher Herndon and Terry Shadd, claiming the pair knowingly violated mine safety rules, according to various local print and television media outlets on Wednesday.

Additionally, an independent report released last Friday by J Davitt McAteer claimed that while state and federal investigation teams did not discover violations of safety regulations that he said contributed to the Aracoma conveyor belt fire, Massey was to blame for the incident.

McAteer, who conducted the investigation on the request of West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, said in his report that the producer couldn't inform miners about the situation and the need to evacuate because its detection and communication systems were “flawed”; additionally, the water supply to the mine’s sprinklers and fire hoses was turned off.

“The two victims' lives could have been saved with early intervention and a fire suppression system that worked,'' McAteer said, adding that the mine’s electrical system had not been inspected for the two years prior to the fire. Annual inspections of all mine electrical systems are required by state law.

The WVOMHST report pinpointed violations such as missing walls and damaged fire equipment. It issued 169 violation notices, 16 of which were issued to individuals associated with the incident, and recommended seven miners’ certifications be suspended or revoked, according to the Associated Press.

Late last Friday, Massey issued a statement on the McAteer report, saying it had not reviewed the report and had “no comments about the report at [this] time”.

It also reaffirmed its dedication to assisting with the investigation: “As stated earlier, it appears that deficiencies at the Alma No. 1 mine were not fully recognised by mine personnel or by state or federal inspectors.

“Massey Energy remains committed to working with federal and state agencies to fully understand the causes of the accident and to prevent a similar occurrence at Massey Energy or elsewhere in the future.”

The company has not released any further comments.

Federal investigations of the Aracoma fire, which killed Don Bragg, 33, and Ellery Elvis Hatfield, 47, are still ongoing.

In related news, the families of six of the miners killed in the explosion at the Sago mine in West Virginia in January have filed suit against operator International Coal Group.

According to AP, the filings cite the producer’s failure to “maintain a safe working environment” and that ICG executives “negligently caused emotional pain” when it waited nearly three hours after an initial report that the miners had survived to set the record straight that 12 had, in fact, perished in the explosion.

“The conduct of ICG was extreme and outrageous … beyond the bounds of decency – atrocious and intolerable,” one of the suits states, according to the news service. Some of the filings also cite self-contained self-rescue devices manufacturer CSE as a defendant – lone survivor Randal McCloy said the SCSRs did not operate as the crew had expected.

ICG and CSE are yet to release statements on the situation.