Rescuers temporarily suspend mine search
Apr-09-2010

Dangerous gases forced rescue teams on Thursday to temporarily suspend a search for survivors of a massive explosion at a West Virginia coal mine that killed at least 25 workers.

Rescuers would not try to re-enter the Upper Big Branch mine where four workers have been missing since Monday's blast until at least early evening, officials said, citing worrying levels of gases, including methane, as the reason.

Surface crews resumed drilling to help ventilation below, Chris Adkins, chief operating officer for mine owner Massey Energy, said at a news briefing.

Anxious families have clung to the hope that some of the miners survived the blast and made their way to one of the mine's underground refuge chambers that are stocked with food, water and air, though officials said the odds were slim.

Those shelters offered the only escape from poisonous gases in the mine, authorities said.

The blast at the Montcoal, West Virginia operation about 30 miles south of the state capital Charleston is the deadliest U.S. mine disaster since 1984. Eighteen bodies remained in the mine.

U.S. President Barack Obama ordered mine safety officials to report next week on the cause of the explosion, the Upper Big Branch mine's safety record and what steps the government could take to prevent a similar disaster in the future.

Questions have risen about Massey's safety record and laws governing the mining industry. Massey has defended its record, saying its accident rate hit an all-time low in 2009.

The Upper Big Branch mine had three fatalities since 1998 and a worse-than-average injury rate in the past 10 years, according to federal records, which also show it has been cited for more than 100 safety violations already this year.

It was cited for two mine safety violations on Monday, which mining authorities said were unrelated to the blast.

Shares of Massey, the largest coal producer in the Central Appalachia mountain region, were up about 1 percent in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange after losing more than 10 percent since the accident. Analysts predict long-term financial health for the company.

On Thursday morning, teams of rescuers began the grueling 5-mile (8-km) underground trip into the mine, but the gases forced them to turn back, Governor Joe Manchin said at an earlier press conference.

"Unfortunately we have the worst scenario," he said.

The setback marks the second time rescuers were driven back by the buildup of dangerous methane and carbon monoxide. The buildup of combustible methane is often cited as a cause of mine explosions.

They would need several hours Thursday afternoon to drill and set up powerful fans to clear the gases, Adkins said.

"You don't want to drill into that area while you have a mine rescue team underground because you get into explosive mixtures and cause more problems than what you need," he said.

Rescuers would not make another attempt to go inside the mine until at least 6 p.m. local time (2200 GMT), he added.

The Upper Branch mine blast is the nation's deadliest mining disaster since 27 miners died in a fire in Utah in 1984. West Virginia was home to the worst U.S. coal mine disaster, when 362 miners died at the Monongah mine in 1906.

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