TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. -- In a bizarre chain of events, initial reports that 12 of 13 miners had survived an explosion turned out to be false as company officials reported that only one miner had been found alive.
The news shocked and angered family members, who had been informed around midnight that 12 miners had been found alive. That joy lasted for only three hours.
Ben Hatfield, president and CEO of International Coal Group, which owns the Sago mine, confirmed during a news conference at 3 a.m. today that only one miner survived the explosion that occurred about 6:30 a.m. Monday.
That miner, identified as Randal McCloy Jr. was in critical condition at a hospital in Morgantown, W.Va.
McCloy was transferred to the intensive care unit of West Virginia University's Ruby Memorial Hospital at Morgantown, where he remained in critical condition this morning. Doctors said he was under sedation and on a ventilator to aid his breathing and there was no immediate sign of brain damage.
"He responds to stimuli and that's good," Dr. Lawrence Roberts said at a briefing. There was no sign of carbon monoxide poisoning, he said.
Charles Green, McCloy's father-in-law, told ABC that when he found out his son-in law was the only survivor, "I was still devastated. My whole family's heart goes out to them other families."
Angry family members said they had been lied to by company officials, and said mining officials offered no explanation for the foul-up.
"They said they were sorry," said Sam Lantz, whose brother-in-law, Marty Bennett, was among the miners.
Lantz said mining company officials came into the Sago Baptist Church, where family members were celebrating what they thought was a miracle and told them, "We didn't have the good news we thought we had earlier."
Mr. Hatfield attributed the mistake to "a miscommunication."
He said that company officials received a report from a rescue team down in the mine that 12 miners had been found and were alive. Twenty minutes later, he said, they learned that initial report was wrong; that only one of the 12 was still alive.
But someone in the command center at the mine site heard the report that 12 of the miners were alive and relayed it to family members at the church, prompting a joyous celebration.
When the rescue team notified officials above ground that the first report was in error and that 11 of the workers were deceased, Mr. Hatfield said, "We were devastated. It's sorrow beyond belief."
Mr. Hatfield said he had no idea who told the families that 12 miners had survived, but said it was not someone authorized by the company.
The company did not go back to tell family members about the new information, Mr. Hatfield said, until they had made sure it was correct.
Who do I tell not to celebrate. We couldn't go back there. There's been too much emotional punishment already," he said.
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III said this morning he had no idea how "the confusions, mistakes and misinformation started and spread." But he promised a full investigation in the days ahead.
Mr. Manchin said he was in the in the church speaking to family members when he heard relatives of the miners in an adjoining room break into cheers, shouting "Twelve are alive, twelve are alive."
He asked his aides if the report had been confirmed and was told it was not. He said he decided to head over to the mine.
"We were caught up in the euphoric state, just like they and many of you were," he said.
Mr. Manchin said he, like others, was devastated when he learned the initial report that 12 had survived was not true.
"I'm the same as you and everyone else, wondering what could have happened, how did this happen?"
Just a few hours earlier, grim faces and somber moods had given way to singing and jubilation just before midnight as family members rejoiced when they thought that 12 of the 13 miners who were missing and feared dead after the explosion had been found alive.
Norman Green, a Red Cross volunteer, was inside the church when someone ran into the church, shouting "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!"
Family members shouted with joy and the floors of the church shook as everyone clapped and hugged. Mr. Green rang the church's bells 12 times, for each of the miners.
It was a dramatic and joyous turn of events for a community that just three hours earlier had learned that one of the 13 missing miners had been found dead, about 11,200 feet inside the mine.
A grim-faced Mr. Hatfield, announced that rescue crews had found the body of one mine worker. Another 700 feet deeper inside the mine, the crew found the low-slung man bus that carried the men to work.
Mr. Hatfield said the discovery of the vehicle provided a "glimmer of hope," because "despite the very substantial explosive force, the mine bus was not damaged and was still on its track.
"It appears that the passengers exited the man bus under their own power and made their way toward [safety]. But we do not know from there where they've gone," Mr. Hatfield said then.
Mr. Manchin, who had been at the site since Monday evening and has met with the families, echoed Mr. Hatfield's reaction to the discovery of the undamaged vehicle.
"They know that 12 men walked off somewhere together," Mr. Manchin said.
"A miracle is still alive. It's a good little state, a tough state, we're going to be OK."
In nearby Buckhannon, several businesses and restaurants displayed messages on their signs that said "Pray for the miners." Later in the night, after word spread that the miners had been found, one sign was changed to say, "We believe in miracles."
After being told about the discovery of a lone body around 9 p.m., the families remained hopeful throughout the day.
William Mooring, the pastor at New Life Tabernacle Church, spent the day at Sago Baptist. "They realized that one was dead, but they have hope that 12 others weren't found," he said.
During the day, the families ate together and prayed, laughed and sang hymns. In general, Mr. Mooring said, they worked to lift each other up.
"I know God has a special grace for people in this situation," Mr. Mooring said.
Atop the hill above town, under the sprawling coal tipples, TV satellite trucks lined up and pointed their dishes to the sky.
Earlier in the evening, officials working desperately to reach the trapped miners suspended drilling operations when rescue teams made quicker-than-expected progress toward the area where they hoped the men might be.
The rescuers braved toxic fumes throughout the day yesterday, looking for some sign that the miners had survived the explosion and were able to barricade themselves in a safe pocket of breathable air.
"Our goal is to keep hope alive, while there is hope," Mr. Hatfield said in an earlier news briefing. "We believe we can get [to them]. But with each hour that passes, our likelihood of success fades."
No one knows what caused the explosion, which happened at 6:31 a.m. Monday when miners returned to work after a two-day holiday shutdown. Residents nearby said a lightning storm passed through Tallmansville about the time of the blast, but mining company officials refused to speculate on what caused the explosion. The hope that the miners survived the explosion and resulting toxic gases was challenged yesterday morning when a hole was drilled from the surface into the mine and dangerous levels of carbon monoxide were detected.
The 61/2-inch shaft allowed crews to drop a camera into the area where the miners were believed to be, but there were no signs of life. Crews also hammered on the drill but received no response from inside the mine.
Sensors showed the air was not life-sustaining. Though the oxygen and methane levels were acceptable, the carbon monoxide reading was 1,300 parts per million, which far exceeds the breathable limit.
Cameras, however, showed no significant damage to the mine.
"The hope that we cling to is that ? we didn't see any major combustion damage, we didn't see equipment turned upside down, we didn't see cables burned," Mr. Hatfield said yesterday morning. "That's probably the brightest spot we've encountered in the past few hours."
A rescue robot supplied by the Mine Safety Health Administration couldn't handle the muddy, uneven terrain inside the mine, and was pulled out as rescue teams worked past it.
Two more holes were drilled toward nearby sections of the mine yesterday, and Mr. Hatfield said the drills were stopped 20 feet from the mine ceiling so the rescue crew didn't have to be withdrawn before the drills punched through and possibly caused an explosion.
He said the original approach might have been overly conservative, and the pace was quickened after consultation with mine safety agencies.
Mr. Hatfield said yesterday that officials still don't know what sparked the explosion.
(Staff writer Cindi Lash contributed to this report. Rebekah Scott can be reached at rscott@post-gazette.com or 724-539-2889 Dan Majors can be reached at dmajors@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1456. Paula Reed Ward can be reached at pward@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2620.)
