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National

Miners' families call for answers

Speaking to regulators at a public hearing, those who lost loved ones in Sago Mine ask: What went wrong, and did it have to?

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published May 3, 2006

BUCKHANNON, W.Va. - "Did our dad have to die?" Peggy Cohen wanted to know Tuesday as mine safety regulators opened an emotional public hearing on questions still surrounding the January disaster that left 12 men dying deep inside the Sago Mine.

Wives and children of the other miners followed her to the microphone, some clutching framed photos of the victims.

"We assure you, Mr. Politicians, that we're not going to let this rest," said John Groves, whose brother Jerry Groves was among the victims. "We know in our hearts that this can be corrected. It needs to be done immediately, it needs to be done now. And it's on you.

"If another accident happens without safety changes, you are responsible."

Four months after the blast, officials from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, West Virginia's Office of Miners' Health Safety and International Coal Group, the company that owns the Sago Mine, began testifying about the disaster in a two-day public hearing.

The miners' families wanted to know whether lightning caused the blast inside the mine that killed one of the crew. They also asked why it took MSHA 11 hours to start the search for the crew, and how the false news spread that 12 of the 13 trapped men were alive when all but one, Randal McCloy Jr., were dead.

The testimony Tuesday centered on the mine's safety record in the year before the explosion and whether state and federal officials had appropriately enforced regulations.

State and federal investigators have not determined what caused the explosion and were expected to press ICG officials today to explain why they say a powerful lightning strike triggered methane gas in a sealed off section of the mine.

One overriding question from the miners' relatives: Was the explosion preventable?

The blast occurred as crews were preparing to resume production after the New Year's holiday. Two miners entered the mine before the crews entered to check for problems.

One of them, fireboss Terry Helms, is believed to have died in the explosion.

The second escaped, but has told investigators that his inspection report has been lost.

That doesn't sit well with Debbie Hamner, widow of George Hamner. She said another miner recalls Helms reporting "two small violations, but he can't remember what they were."

"This explosion, I believe, was preventable, and I don't call this an accident. I call this a disaster," Hamner said.

[Last modified May 3, 2006, 07:21:14]