Holmes Mill, Ky. – An explosion in an eastern Kentucky coal mine killed five miners Saturday, Gov. Ernie Fletcher said. A sixth miner was able to walk away from the blast and out of the mine on his own.
The blast at Darby Mine No. 1 in Harlan County occurred between midnight and 1 a.m. while a maintenance shift was on duty, said Amy Louviere, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.
The five dead miners were found by rescue workers, the governor said. The rescue teams initially found three dead workers and later found two more, he said.
Fletcher said he had contacted the families of the workers who were killed.
“They want answers – how, why, what caused it – that will help them deal with it a little more,” he said.
Authorities identified the victims as Amon Brock, 51; Jimmy Lee; Roy Middleton, 35; George William Petra; and Paris Thomas Jr. The ages of Lee, Petra and Thomas were not available.
Mary Middleton said her husband had been working in the mines since he was 18.
“He thought about coming out of the mines, but we have two kids,” she said. “It was a job to make a living.”
Denise Bean, stepdaughter of Brock, said he came from a family of miners.
“Mining is all he’s ever done,” she said. “It was his life.”
The surviving miner, Paul Ledford, was treated at Lonesome Pine Hospital in Big Stone Gap, Va., and released, hospital spokes woman Amy Stevens said.
Fletcher said Ledford was closer to the mine’s exit than his co-workers.
It was not clear how many workers were on duty when the blast occurred. Louviere said no production was going on.
The underground mine, operated by Kentucky Darby LLC, is about 250 miles southeast of Louisville in a mountainous area near the Virginia border.
Mine safety issues have been a key concern of lawmakers since two accidents in January killed 14 West Virginia coal miners.
Last week, a key Senate committee endorsed a bill to make coal mining safer.
The legislation would require miners to have at least two hours of oxygen available instead of one and would require mine operators to store extra oxygen packs along escape routes.
