|
11 of 12 miners reported alive are dead
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-04 18:20
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.
Ben Hatfield, chief
executive officer for the mine's owner International Coal Group Inc. talks
to members of the media during a news conference in Tallmansville, W.Va.,
Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2006 after family members learned early Wednesday that
11 of the 12 coal miners who were initially thought to have survived an
explosion in a coal mine have died. [AP] |
The devastating news came more than three hours after Gov. Joe Manchin said
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.
Hatfield told the families gathered at the Sago Baptist Church 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.
|
