By FITSNews || Six miners are dead and 21 are unaccounted for after an explosion ripped through an underground coal mine in Whitesville, West Virginia on Monday afternoon. Another 20 miners were injured in the blast.
The facility – which is owned by Virginia-based Massey Energy – employs around 200 workers.
Company officials would only confirm that an explosion took place at around 3:00 p.m. Monday afternoon. There is no official word yet as to how many people may be trapped underground, although the mine is reportedly equipped with oxygen reservoirs that could keep miners alive for up to four days while a rescue is attempted.
Although mine accidents are not as common as they were during the early part of the twentieth century, there have been at least four deadly coal mine disasters over the last decade that have claimed more than three dozen lives – including a 2006 explosion at a mine near Tallmansville, West Virginia that left a dozen miners dead.
The worst coal mine disaster in American history took place on December 6, 1907 in Monongah, West Virginia, when an explosion killed 362 miners and led the U.S. Congress to create a federal agency to regulate mining.
All told, over 100,000 miners have been killed since 1900 – including 34 a year ago.
UPDATE: Twelve miners are now confirmed dead and ten remain missing. Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the explosion.
By Ynotfirst April 6, 2010 at 8:47 am
we NEED “clean” coal but OSHA needs to improve mining standards.
By Scooter April 6, 2010 at 11:33 am
This a so sad. In these times, when so many advances in so many areas, have been made, it seems that coal mining is still unfairly dangerous. I know this is the way of life for so many in W.V. and has been a part of their family histories for generations, but can’t we make things better for all involved? Coal is dangerous, dirty and sadly, keeps people tied to the business. We need alternatives for the families, for the industry and for our environment.