Execs: Well-trained miners waited for rescue
TALLMANSVILLE, W. Va. (AP)  With their escape routes blocked by heavy smoke, most of the 13 miners caught in an explosion did what they were trained to do: They retreated deeper into the mine and hung a curtain-like barrier to keep out toxic gases while they waited for rescuers to find them, officials said Wednesday.
CEO Ben Hatfield, left, apologized tearfully; mining exec Gene Kitts provides more details. By George Widman, AP
All but one were found dead more than a day and half after the blast.
The miners' families learned of the 12 deaths during a torturous night in which they were mistakenly told at first that 12 of the men were alive. It took three hours before the families were told the truth, and their joy turned instantly to fury, with one man lunging at coal company officials. (Related story: Families want answers)
It was the nation's deadliest coal mining accident in more than four years.
The sole survivor, 27-year-old Randal McCloy, lay in critical condition with a collapsed lung and dehydration but no sign of brain damage or carbon monoxide poisoning after being trapped for more than 42 hours, a doctor said. McCloy was the youngest miner in the group.
Ben Hatfied, chief executive of mine owner International Coal Group Inc., said that the company did the best it could under extreme stress and exhaustion, and that officials "sincerely regret" the families were left to believe for so long that their loved ones were alive.
THE RESCUE EFFORT The 12 people who died in the Sago Mine were trained for emergencies and did what they could to save themselves, officials said. Take a look at how the rescue effort unfolded.
"In the process of being cautious, we allowed the jubilation to go on longer than it should have," a choked-up Hatfield said.
He said the initial mistake resulted from a miscommunication among the rescue crews. Another ICG executive, vice president Gene Kitts, suggested the misunderstanding resulted because the rescuers who reached the victims were wearing full-face oxygen masks and used radios to report their findings to their base.
The last of the 12 bodies were taken out of the mine at midmorning.
KEY EVENTS A timeline of events in the Sago Mine explosion:
Jan. 2: An early morning explosion traps 13 miners underground, but rescuers cannot enter for nearly 12 hours because dangerous levels of carbon monoxide are being vented.
Rescue crews finally enter the mine on foot for fear of sparking another explosion.
The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration sends in a rescue robot, but it's abandoned after getting stuck in the mud.
Jan. 3: Rescuers keep pushing deeper into the mine shaft.
A mine executive is "very discouraged" by air quality tests, which show carbon monoxide levels measured 1,300 parts per million, exceeding the maximum safe level of 400 parts per million.
Gov. Joe Manchin says it will take a miracle to find the missing miners alive.
One body is discovered in the mine. The prospects of finding anyone alive appear increasingly bleak with no signs of life.
Shortly before midnight, family members say they have been told that the other 12 miners are alive, 41 hours after the explosion.
One miner is in critical condition at a hospital, and was "unconscious but moaning" when he was brought to St. Joseph's Hospital, a doctor says.
Jan 4: Three hours after word the miners had survived, the mine company's CEO makes a stunning announcement that news of 12 survivors was wrong. Just one person survived, he says, explaining the wrong information was a miscommunication between rescuers and the command center overseeing rescue efforts.
Chaos and fights break out in the church where the families had gathered to wait, says John Groves, whose brother Jerry Groves was trapped in the mine.
One of the dead was discovered several hundred feet from where the others had barricaded themselves in the maze-like mine, officials said. Hatfield said the miner, found near a belt used to move coal to the surface, was apparently killed by the force of the blast.
The other men were apparently deeper into the mine at the time and survived the blast. But the mine company would not say exactly how they died or how long they survived, citing family privacy.
"They felt the percussion and heard the noise," Hatfield said. "We believe they probably encountered heavy smoke and the ventilation system was obstructed. They then did what skilled miners do."
McCloy and the 11 others were found at the deepest point of the mine, about 2{ miles from the entrance, behind a fibrous plastic cloth stretched across an area about 20 feet wide to keep out deadly carbon monoxide gas, Hatfield said. Such curtains, called battices, are used in mines to direct air flow, and miners are trained to use them in an emergency.
Each of the miners in the barricaded area also had a breathing apparatus that purifies the air and had been able to use it, according to mine officials.
The outlook for the men appeared bleak on Tuesday morning, when rescuers found deadly levels of carbon monoxide — a byproduct of combustion — in the mine, and got no response when they banged on a steel pipe.
Hatfield refused to say whether the miners wrote notes to their families.
ICG's Kitts said the rescuers realized McCloy was alive when they heard his moans. Kitts said McCloy may have been the farthest away from the bad air. Doctors said McCloy's youth may also have helped him survive; most of the other miners were in their 50s.
McCloy was in intensive care at West Virginia University's Ruby Memory Hospital at Morgantown, undergoing dialysis because of damage to his kidneys from dehydration. Dr. Lawrence Roberts said McCloy squeezed his wife's hand on Wednesday and was communicating with other movements.
The miners had been trapped 260 feet down since Monday morning in the Sago Mine, about 100 miles northeast of Charleston. As rescue workers tried to reach the men, families waited at the Sago Baptist Church during a grueling vigil.
The mine has one shaft with two shafts extending off to the left, forming a giant backward "F." One of the dead was found near the second left turn in the mine; the others were found at the far end of the shaft formed by the top of the backward "F."
Federal and state authorities said they would investigate the cause of the blast. But coal mine explosions are typically caused by buildups of naturally occurring methane gas or highly combustible coal dust in the air.
David Dye, who heads the Mine Safety and Health Administration, said the investigation will include "how emergency information was relayed about the trapped miners' conditions."
The devastating information about the dead shocked and angered family members, who had rejoiced with Gov. Joe Manchin hours earlier when word spread that 12 miners were alive. Church bells pealed and politicians proclaimed the rescue a miracle before the real story came out.
Hatfield said about 45 minutes after the mine rescue command center received word that 12 miners were alive, the company realized it may have gotten it wrong. But families were not told of the mistake until three hours later, in part, Hatfield said, because officials wanted to make sure all of their information was right.
Chaos broke out in the church and a fight started. Police were called in for fear of violence.
The explosion was West Virginia's deadliest coal mining accident since 1968, when 78 men — including Manchin's uncle — died in an explosion at a mine in Marion County, an hour's drive from here. That disaster prompted Congress to pass the Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969.
It was the nation's worst coal mining disaster since a pair of explosions tore through a mine in Brookwood, Ala., on Sept. 23, 2001, killing 13.
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Virginie-Occidentale

Selon de nombreuses sources dont CNN et USA Today, 12 mineurs de charbon ont trouvé la mort dans une mine de Virginie-Occidentale. Seulement un aurait survécu contredisant les informations préliminaires qui disaient que 12 personnes avait été trouvées vivantes.  Le président de la International Coal Company a lui-même annoncé la mort des 12 mineurs à leurs familles respectives dans l'église de Sago. 

Alors que le président a accusé le ,  les familles ont quant à elles affirmé que le CEO de la compagnie minière leur .

Le survivant, Randal McCloy, est dans un état critique au Ruby Memorial Hospital. Les autres mineurs sont morts d'asphyxie malgré les tentatives pour les secourir. Selon certaines sources, le taux de monoxyde de carbone était trois fois supérieur à la valeur limite pour que l'air soit respirable.