Wednesday - January 04, 2006

Disappointment

In their rush to get the story out, the media and mine officials probably ripped the guts out of several families last night. All of the news networks and print media have been standing vigil over the mine for days waiting for word. Then whispers started that twelve had survived and before you knew it the story was all over the news and families rejoiced. Three hours later, the truth came out ... all dead except for one. My heart goes out to the families of the miners. It could have been handled better ...

11 of 12 Miners Reported Alive Are Dead
Jan 04 4:08 AM US/Eastern
TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. (AP)

Jubilant family members celebrated news early Wednesday that 12 miners were pulled alive from the scene of an underground explosion, only to learn nearly three hours later that they had been misled and just one miner actually survived. The chief executive of the mine blamed the stunning error on a misunderstood conversation overheard between rescuers and the command center overseeing rescue efforts.

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, 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. Hatfield said the erroneous information spread rapidly when people overheard phone calls between rescuers and the rescue command center. In reality, rescuers had confirmed finding 12 miners and were checking their vital signs, he said.

“The initial report from the rescue team to the command center indicated multiple survivors,” Hatfield said during a news conference. “That information spread like wildfire, because it had come from the command center. It quickly got out of control.” Hatfield said the company waited to correct the information until it knew more about the rescue.

- More on the tragedy here ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 01/04/2006 at 06:27 AM   
Filed Under: • News-Briefs •  
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