12 dead in WV mine; 1 survivor

[Brent]

1 miner in critical condition at the hospital according to CNN...

[Brent]

Hospital news conference on MSNBC now... they only have one, he's critical, not breathing on his own, no ID on him. He's being transported to the Trauma Center in Morgantown.

The other 11 have not been seen yet... it's even unclear whether they are out of the mine.

[Brent]

WHOA!!!

Only one survivor... what on earth happened?

[Thunder44]

One Word Brent...Munich

[kevin]

That's really unfortunate. =(

... the hallelujahs may have come too soon.

Now the tragedy and mental strife for the families can only be greater. A shame.

[Brent]

One Word Brent...Munich

That's not my issue... why was it originally reported they were alive??? I started to become suspicious about an hour ago when there were no signs of anyone.

This is an outrage...

[LaPlaceFF]

Whoa to go from 11 survivors to only one survivor....uncomprehensible.

[Brent]

Press conference is on... initial report was "multiple survivors"

[Thunder44]

One Word Brent...Munich

That's not my issue... why was it originally reported they were alive??? I started to become suspicious about an hour ago when there were no signs of anyone.

This is an outrage...

It just reminded me of story on CNN of how the hostages from the Munich olympic games were initially reported to have survived the raid only to learn later that they did not.

[LaPlaceFF]

My prayers go out to the families at this time from here in LaPlace, LA

[Brent]

CNN just reported that the company knew 20 minutes after the initial report of all alive that it wasn't true and that some were dead, but led the families and the whole world to believe for 3 hours that all were alive.

There is no excuse for that.

[brunota2003]

TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. - In a stunning and heartbreaking reversal, mining officials told family members early Wednesday that 11 of the 12 trapped coal miners initially thought to have survived a mine explosion had died.

The devastating news came more than three hours after Gov. Joe Manchin announced he had been told 12 of the miners survived the disaster. Rescue crews found the first victim earlier Tuesday evening.

"About the confusion, I can't tell you of anything more heart-wrenching than I've ever gone through in my life. Nothing," Manchin said.

The sole survivor of the disaster, identified by mining officials as 27-year-old Randal McCloy, was hospitalized in critical condition early Wednesday, a doctor said. When he arrived, he was unconscious but moaning, the hospital said.

"It's sorrow beyond belief," International Coal Group Chief Executive Officer Ben Hatfield said during a news conference.

Families gathered at the Sago Baptist Church began running out of the church and crying just before midnight, yelling "They're alive!" After two days of keeping vigil, they celebrated joyfully as church bells rang in jubilation.

As an ambulance drove away from the mine carrying what families believed was the first survivor, they applauded, not yet knowing there were no others.

The governor later indicated he was uncertain about the news at first. When word of survivors began circulating through the church, he hadn't heard it, he said.

"All of a sudden we heard the families in a euphoric state, and all the shouting and screaming and joyfulness, and I asked my detachments, I said, 'Do you know what's happening?' Because we were wired in and we didn't know," Manchin said.

Hatfield blamed the wrong information on a "miscommunication." The news spread after people overheard cell phone calls, he said. In reality, rescuers had only confirmed finding 12 miners and were checking their vital signs. But what leaked out to anxious family members was that 12 were found alive.

"That information spread like wildfire, because it had come from the command center," he said.

Three hours later, Hatfield told the families that "there had been a lack of communication, that what we were told was wrong and that only one survived," said John Groves, whose brother Jerry Groves was one of the trapped miners.

"There was no apology. There was no nothing. It was immediately out the door," said Nick Helms, son of miner Terry Helms.

Chaos broke out in the church and a fight started. About a dozen state troopers and a SWAT team were positioned along the road near the church because police were concerned about violence. A Red Cross volunteer, Tamila Swiger, told CNN people were breaking down and suffering panic attacks.

The explosion was the state's deadliest mining accident since November 1968, when 78 men — including the uncle of Gov. Joe Manchin — died in an explosion at Consol's Farmington No. 9 mine in Marion County, an hour's drive north of here. Nineteen bodies remain entombed in the mountain. It was that disaster that prompted Congress to pass the Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969.

It was also the worst nationwide since a pair of explosions tore through the Jim Walter Resources No. 5 mine in Brookwood, Ala. on Sept. 23, 2001, killing 13.

The 12 miners were found together behind a barrier they had constructed to block carbon monoxide gas. They were found near where the company had drilled an air hole early Tuesday in an attempt to contact the men.

The 12 miners had stretched a piece of fabric across an area about 20 feet wide to block out the gas, Hatfield said. The fabric is designed for miners to use as a barrier. Each miner had carried a breathing apparatus and had been able to use it, according to mining officials.

The hole also was used to check air quality in the mine, which revealed high concentrations of carbon monoxide. The odorless, colorless gas can be lethal at high doses. At lower levels, it can cause headaches, dizziness, disorientation, nausea, fatigue and brain damage.

Manchin, who had earlier said that the state believed in miracles, tried to focus on the news that one had survived.

"We're clinging to one miracle when we were hoping for 13," he said.

[cycloneye]

My prayers go to all the families of all the victims and hopefully the survivor recuparates soon.

[O Town]

Very Tragic ending. My prayers go out to all the families. And shame on CNN for what they did. They should have broke in and told people the truth when they knew, those poor families.

[Miss Mary]

I have a terrible cold right now and couldn't sleep around 3 a.m. Got online and read the tragic, tragic news. I went back to sleep in shock mode. After I dropped my daughter off to school this morning, we needed milk. Stopped for some. I then saw USA Today's front page headline - 12 Miners Found Alive. Same in my local Cincinnati Enquirer. We were all discussing this turn of events in my local 7/11, shocked, stunned, and outraged for the families.

I simply can't imagine what these poor families are going thru today but an image keeps coming to mind - imagine telling your child that daddy is okay and coming home. Only to tell him/her that it's not true. How in the world do you tell a child something like this?

Finally, what I can't let go of, mine officials knew they weren't alive, for 3 hours and chose not to tell family members.

I smell major law suits here. Major. And they'd be justified, IMO. I'd also have armed guards if I were that company president. Grief can make people just snap. This story isn't over yet.

Mary

PS - online newspaper editions have corrected their front page headlines now. But I have both papers, in print, stating they were found alive. Unforgivable.

[Skywatch_NC]

Prayers and thoughts with all the families.

((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))

Also, prayers and thoughts with the lone surviving miner and his family and that he will recover from his injuries.

Eric

[alicia-w]

The 27-year-old lone survivor of an explosion in a coal mine is suffering from severe dehydration and has a collapsed lung after his 41-hour ordeal, the doctor treating him said Wednesday.

Dr. Larry Roberts of Ruby Memorial Hospital said that Randal McCloy was brought to the facility around 3 a.m., after being initially treated at a hospital close to the Sago Mine.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/04/mine.survivor/index.html

[wxmann_91]

Prayers and thoughts to the familes of the miners.

[Brent]

Very Tragic ending. My prayers go out to all the families. And shame on CNN for what they did. They should have broke in and told people the truth when they knew, those poor families.

No... the CEO is the one who knew it(and sat on the news). None of the media did... they just went with what the family was being told at that point.

[Miss Mary]

Very Tragic ending. My prayers go out to all the families. And shame on CNN for what they did. They should have broke in and told people the truth when they knew, those poor families.

No... the CEO is the one who knew it(and sat on the news). None of the media did... they just went with what the family was being told at that point.

Brent - that's why my post and response was so lengthy and critical of the company. If I had worked for him, I swear I think I would have marched right over to that church and do the right thing. Someone should have told these families ASAP, the truth. I still find it so shocking. The miscommunication I can understand, they were probably communicating over static and with walkie talkies, but to not correct the misinformation right away, is simply wrong. On so many levels!

Mary