Newspapers and television stations were caught in a bind early today as heartbreaking news broke that 12 trapped miners believed to have been found alive in the Sago Mine in fact were dead.
Many newspapers across the state and nation went to press late last night or early this morning with lead stories and pictures about a miraculous rescue.
Dawn Dayton, managing editor of the Register-Herald in Beckley, said she called the newsroom early today as reports came in on the wire about the rescue. The paper went to press about midnight.
Three hours later, the correct information was disclosed about the miners' fate.
Dayton said it was reminiscent in some respects of the 2000 presidential election, when papers and news networks prematurely declared George Bush the winner when the contest was still a tossup.
The Charleston Gazette managed to provide accurate information to most of its readers. The presses were running about 2:30 a.m. with an edition that contained the headline "Twelve Alive!" when a circulation department worker heard a broadcast report that only one miner had survived.
The worker alerted his superiors, and news staff members were called back to the newspaper building. The Gazette managed to print much of its final edition with the correct story under the headline "Only 1 Survives."
Ed Dawson, executive editor of the Herald-Dispatch in Huntington, said that many copies of his paper contained the story about multiple survivors. He said copies that came off the press later had the right version.
"We apologize to our readers for having the misinformation," Dawson said. "It was not our intention, but this is certainly a unusual event."
Jim Smith, executive editor of the Parkersburg News and Sentinel, said copies of the News went out with the story of 12 survivors. Smith said the paper prints only one edition.
"We got caught in a time problem which is not good for our industry," Smith said.
Smith said the paper did update its Web site with the newest, accurate information.
Reports provided to news organizations from the Associated Press show how the situation changed overnight from jubilation to despair.
At 9:08 p.m., the wire service reported, "Rescue crews found one body late Tuesday in a West Virginia mine where 13 miners were trapped after an explosion, according to the miners' family members.
"John Groves, whose brother Jerry Groves is among the trapped miners, said Gov. Joe Manchin had announced that rescuers found one body in a mine car.
"Red Cross volunteer Tamila Swiger, who was inside the Sago Baptist Church, said family members were hyperventilating at the news."
At 11:58 p.m. came the stunning report about survivors:
"Twelve miners caught in an explosion in a coal mine were found alive Tuesday night, more than 41 hours after the blast, family members said.
"Bells at a church where relatives had been gathering rang out as family members ran out screaming in jubilation."
At 12:16 a.m., this updated version moved on the AP wire:
"Twelve miners caught in an explosion in a coal mine were found alive late Tuesday, more than 41 hours after the blast, family members said.
"Bells at a church where relatives had been gathering rang out as family members ran out screaming in jubilation. "Relatives yelled, They're alive!' "
" Miracles happen in West Virginia and today we got one,' said Charlotte Weaver, wife of Jack Weaver, one of the men who had been trapped in the mine.
" I got scared a lot of times, but I couldn't give up,' she said. We have an 11-year-old son, and I couldn't go home and tell him, Daddy wasn't coming home.' "
At 2:32 a.m., this was how the wire story began:<,/h3>
"Twelve of the 13 miners trapped in an explosion in a coal mine were found alive late Tuesday after more than 41 hours underground, turning a community's worst fears to unbridled joy. Family members streamed from the church where they had kept vigil, shouting Praise the Lord!' "
"Bells at the church rang out as family members ran out screaming in jubilation. Relatives yelled They're alive!' "
" They told us they have 12 alive,' said Gov. Joe Manchin, leader of the nation's No. 2 coal-producing state. We have some people that are going to need some medical attention.' "
At 3:05 a.m., the stunning reversal was reported:
"Family members reported early Wednesday that 11 of the 12 coal miners who were initially thought to have survived an explosion in a coal mine have died.
"Families learned of the deaths from mine officials more than three hours after Gov. Joe Manchin said he had been told 12 of the miners survived the disaster."
