SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Gold/Mining/Energy : Coal -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Broken_Clock who wrote (204)1/4/2006 1:25:02 AM
From: Broken_Clock  Respond to of 2031
 
12 of 13 Trapped W.Va. Miners Found Alive

By ALLEN G. BREED, Associated Press Writer 10 minutes ago

TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. - Twelve of the 13 miners trapped in an explosion in a coal mine were found alive late Tuesday after more than 41 hours underground, turning a community's worst fears to unbridled joy. Family members streamed from the church where they had kept vigil, shouting "Praise the Lord!"
ADVERTISEMENT

Bells at the church rang out as family members ran out screaming in jubilation. Relatives yelled "They're alive!"

"They told us they have 12 alive," said Gov. Joe Manchin, leader of the nation's No. 2 coal-producing state. "We have some people that are going to need some medical attention."

Rescue crews found the body of a 13th miner earlier Tuesday evening and said they were holding out hope that the others were still alive, even as precious time continued to slip away.

The mine's owner, International Coal Group Inc., did not immediately confirm that the 12 other men were alive. A relative at the church said a mine foreman called relatives there, saying the miners had been found.

A few minutes after word came, the throng, several hundred strong, broke into a chorus of the hymn "How Great Thou Art," in a chilly, night air.

"Miracles happen in West Virginia and today we got one," said Charlotte Weaver, wife of Jack Weaver, one of the men who had been trapped in the mine.

"I got scared a lot of times, but I couldn't give up," she said. "We have an 11-year-old son, and I couldn't go home and tell him, 'Daddy wasn't coming home.'"

There were hugs and tears among the crowd outside the Sago Baptist Church near the mine, about 100 miles northeast of Charleston.

Helen Winans, whose son Marshall Winans, is one of those trapped said she believes there was divine intervention.

"The Lord takes care of them," she said.

The body was found about 700 feet from a mine car, and it appeared the employee was working on a beltline, which brings coal out of the mine, said Ben Hatfield, chief executive officer for ICG of Ashland, Ky.

The mine car was empty, which led rescuers to believe the others may have been safe somewhere else in the mine.

The miners had been trapped 260 feet below the surface of the mine since an explosion early Monday.



To: Broken_Clock who wrote (204)1/4/2006 1:33:37 AM
From: Spekulatius  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 2031
 
It's terrific news and a much better outcome than I expected after i heard about the high levels of CO inside the mine. Those rescued miners will have an amazing story to tell, that's for sure.

No money, profit or good can ever pay for a single persons live.