MONTCOAL, W.Va. — An explosion at a coal mine with a history of safety problems killed 25 workers, and at least four others were missing early today more than a thousand feet underground in the worst U.S. mine disaster since 1984.
Rescuers had been making their way to the area where the miners were believed trapped at Massey Energy Co.’s sprawling Upper Big Branch mine, where the blast occurred around 3 p.m. Monday.
But officials said at a late- night news conference that the search was suspended because rising methane gas levels in the mine made it a high risk for another explosion.
Earlier, Kevin Stricklin, an administrator for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, said officials hoped some of the missing survived the initial blast and reached airtight chambers stocked with food, water and enough oxygen for them to live for four days. But rescue teams made it to one of two nearby shelters, and it was empty. The gas prevented them from going on.
Massey officials confirmed that 25 bodies were found. The death toll had risen from seven earlier in the day to 12 at about midnight. A total of 29 miners were in the area when the blast happened, he said.
“It does not appear that any of the individuals made it to a rescue chamber,” Stricklin said at a news conference. “The situation is dire.”
State mining director Ron Wooten said though the situation does not seem promising to reach the four still missing, rescuers wouldn’t give up.
Though the cause of the blast was not known, the site about 30 miles south of Charleston has a history of violations for not properly ventilating methane gas, safety officials said.
Benny R. Willingham, 62, five weeks away from retiring, was among those killed, said sister-in-law Sheila Prillaman.
“Benny was the type, he probably wouldn’t have stayed retired long,” Prillaman said. “He wasn’t much of a homebody.”
