From Triumph to Tragedy, in a Matter of Minutes

[wolf]

I ended up stuck late at work tonight. The TV was on, and it was quite excitedly announced that the West Virginia Miners had been located and that most of them had survived.

I was, however, quite saddended to learn just now that initial reports had the numbers reversed ... that 12 miners were found dead and one alive.

From FoxNews

Eleven of Twelve Missing Coal Miners Believed to Be Alive Found Dead

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. — 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.

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. The sole survivor of the disaster was hospitalized, a doctor said.

International Coal Group Chief Executive Officer Ben Hatfield told the families that only one miner, Randal McCloy, had survived the explosion.

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.

At that point, chaos broke out in the church and a fight started.

If the situation weren't so sad, the last line would be a lot funnier.

One of my friends was directly involved with the successful rescue mission at the Quecreek mine incident in Western Pennsylvania. Because of his experiences there, it's quite likely that he was requested to go (or will soon go) to this town to provide support services for the rescue workers.

My condolences to the miners and their families. The likelihood of dying on the job is one that always exists for them, even if lessened by modern techniques and equipment.