21 unaccounted for; emergency crews on the scene
BREAKING NEWS
msnbc.com staff and news service reports
updated 18 minutes ago
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Six miners were killed and at least 21 are unaccounted for Monday in an explosion at an underground coal mine, the state mining director said.
Ron Wooten said the blast was reported around 3 p.m. at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine in Raleigh County, about 30 miles south of Charleston. The company did not provide details on the extent of the damage. A Boone County ambulance dispatcher also said he has the same number of fatalities and missing miners.
The mine is operated by subsidiary Performance Coal Co.
We're uncertain as to what happened but we are working diligently on rescue efforts and we are in contact with all of the appropriate agencies," Massey CEO Don Blankenship told WCHS TV.
Mine emergency crews from the State Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training were on the scene, along with a family liaison, according to an agency statement.
Gov. Joe Manchin was out of town, but working to get back, according to his office. Chief of Staff Jim Spears was headed to the mine.
Other deaths at mine
At least three fatalities have happened at the mine in the past dozen years.
In 1998, a worker was killed when a support beam collapsed, dumping bags of cement mix and other materials onto the man, according to a report from the federal Mine Safety & Health Administration. Federal investigators blamed poor welding and construction.
In 2001, another worker at the mine died after a portion of roof fell in on him, and an electrician died after being electrocuted while repairing a shuttle car there in 2003.
The mine produced 1.2 million tons of coal in 2009, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Massey Energy is a publicly traded company based in Richmond, Va., that has 2.2 billion tons of coal reserves in southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia and Tennessee, according to the company's Web site.
In 2006, 12 miners died in a methane explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia. Six were killed in the collapse of the Crandall Canyon mine in Utah in 2007.
Last year, the number of miners killed on the job in the U.S. fell for a second straight year to 34, the fewest since officials began keeping records nearly a century ago. That was down from the previous low of 52 in 2008.
U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration documents show 18 of the deaths occurred in coal mines, down from 29 in 2008; and 16 were in gold, copper and other types of mines, down from 22 in 2008. Most involved aboveground truck accidents on mine property, though some resulted from rock falls and being struck by machinery.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for more details.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36183425/ns/us_news-life/
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