The local West Brookwood Church, which is adjacent to the mine entrance, hosted more than 250 people for gathering on the sixth anniversary of the event Sunday.
“Coming back here just reminds me that 13 men died and it never should have happened,” said widow Wanda Blevins to Associated Press. She is now a lobbyist for federal mine safety.
"We could protect these guys a lot more than we are doing," added David Blevins.
Twelve of the workers were attempting to save another, Gaston Adams Jr, who was trapped after two explosions in September 2001, and all were killed. A gas ignition was blamed for the initial incident, with the source being falling rock that struck workers’ hard hats.
The No. 5 mine remained open until January of this year. JWR’s No. 4 and No. 7 underground operations remain active in the Brookwood area, about an hour south of Birmingham.
