MORGANTOWN, West Virginia (AP) — An explosion that killed 12 workers at the Sago Mine likely was caused by a massive lightning strike that ignited methane
gas in a sealed-off area, the mine’s owner said Tuesday.
The company’s own investigation turned up three pieces of compelling evidence of a lightning strike, all from 6:26 a.m. on January 2, said Ben Hatfield,
chief executive officer of International Coal Group Inc.
He said weather monitors confirmed an unusually large and powerful lightning strike near the mine; the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed a seismic event
at Sago; and the mine’s own atmospheric monitoring system signaled a combustion alarm.
The precise route the electrical charge followed remains under investigation, but Hatfield said there is no evidence that a nearby gas well contributed
to the explosion.
Hatfield broke the news to miners’ families in a series of private meetings Tuesday, and Sago workers were to be briefed Tuesday night as they returned
to work. The coal mine is set to resume production Wednesday.
“While our independent investigation is certainly not the final word on the explosion, we are confident that the joint federal-state investigation will
reach a similar conclusion,” Hatfield said. “We are pleased that we can get our Sago employees back to work with the knowledge that the explosion was an
unpredictable and highly unusual accident.”
The explosion trapped a crew of 13 men more than 250 feet underground for more than 40 hours. By the time rescue teams reached them, all but one had perished,
most slowly succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning. Survivor Randal L. McCloy Jr. is still recovering from severe brain damage and other injuries.
Although the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration declared the mine safe to re-enter last week, Hatfield said he delayed resuming production until
he could share the initial findings with the families.
Hatfield said reactions ranged from anger and frustration to relief. Mainly, though, families appreciated getting the information before it was released
to the media or the general public.
He said he promised the families that lessons will be learned from the disaster, and coal mines will be made safer.
Though MSHA cited the mine for 208 violations in the months before the accident, the company’s investigation showed that none of those violations was related
to the blast, Hatfield said. Still, the company expects to be under the microscope.
“Frankly, we welcome that scrutiny,” he said. “We have worked hard to address all concerns and are confident that we will provide a safe working environment
for our miners.”
Brief homecoming for Sago survivor
The sole survivor of the Sago Mine disaster visited his home for the first time since the January 2 explosion Tuesday, eating a home-cooked lunch and visiting
with his family during a three-hour visit.
Afterward, Randal McCloy Jr., 26, returned to the HealthSouth Mountainview Regional Rehabilitation Hospital, where he is going through months of therapy
to recover from brain damage and other injuries.
The coal miner’s wife, Anna, had refused to return to the family home in Simpson, staying at the hospital or a nearby hotel, until her husband could go
with her.
On Tuesday, he made the 45-minute drive with Anna, their two children and brother-in-law Rick McGee, said family spokeswoman Aly Goodwin Gregg.
“It was wonderful, and he was so happy to be home. She was so happy to be home. But what was most telling was how happy those babies were to be home and
be in their own space,” Gregg said.
The couple has a 4-year-old son and 16-month-old daughter.
McCloy and 12 co-workers entered the Sago Mine to resume production after a holiday shutdown when an explosion trapped them. It took more than 40 hours
for rescue teams to reach the men, and by then, most had died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
McCloy was carried out with kidney, lung, liver and heart damage on January 4 and remained in a coma for weeks.
Today, he is eating on his own and has movement in most of his body. He’s also learning to speak again, but doctors say it may be three to six months before
he is able to carry on a normal conversation.
In a recent interview, Anna McCloy told The Associated Press her husband is aware of the accident that put him in the hospital but has not asked about the
fate of his crew. Nor has she volunteered that information, wanted him to remain focused on recovering.
McCloy was able to walk into his house Tuesday with help from hospital staff. “Anna’s mother created this feast, and Randy ate like a horse,” Gregg said.
Copyright 2006 The
Associated Press.
