By FITSNews || Twenty-five miners are now dead and four are still missing after an explosion tore through a coal mine in West Virginia Monday.
The explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in Whitesville, West Virginia is the worst mine disaster in a quarter century.
Worse still, attempts to reach the four miners believed to be trapped underground had to be suspended Tuesday morning due to a build-up of methane gas in the mine and the possibility of subsequent explosions.
“Rescue efforts are currently suspended due to conditions underground [and] will resume as soon as conditions allow,” company officials said.
Virginia-based Massey Energy operates the facility – which employed about 200 people prior to the accident. The company has come under scrutiny in the wake of the explosion for its spotty safety record, which includes millions of dollars in fines paid in recent years as a result of various safety violations.
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.
Pic: Reuters
By Ynotfirst April 7, 2010 at 7:21 am
God bless the families of these miners. Coal is an important piece of America’s energy at present and most likely in our future. I for one, appreciate the willing human beings who venture far under the earth each and every day in order to extract coal for our energy needs. I love electricity and coal figures in this equation, either fortunately or unfortunately.
Again, God rest these humans souls and give comfort to their grieving families.
God bless America, again, please………