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Union: Roof friction caused Sago Mine blast

A report says the chance that lightning is to blame for the 2006 explosion, leaving 12 dead, is "practically impossible."

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published March 16, 2007

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The miners union on Thursday blamed last year's deadly Sago Mine explosion on friction between rocks and a metal roof-support system, rather than lightning.

The United Mine Workers report said the chance that lightning caused the methane gas blast is "so remote as to be practically impossible."

The union's report differs from the conclusions of state investigators and the mine's owner that a lightning strike somehow traveled 2 miles and ignited gas that had accumulated naturally in a mined-out and sealed-off area.

Mine owner International Coal Group Inc. issued a statement dismissing the report as "wholly unreliable" and "nothing more than political grandstanding" designed to help the union's organizing efforts.

The January 2006 explosion killed one miner and left 12 others trapped underground for more than 40 hours. By the time rescuers reached them, carbon monoxide poisoning had killed all but one of the remaining men.

A lightning strike was documented about the same time as the explosion. But unlike other coal mine blasts linked to lightning, Sago had no metal conduit that could have carried the charge that far, according to the union.

Rather, the union contended, a spark likely came from rocks banging together or into the network of metal screens, plates and bolts used to hold up a steadily collapsing shale and sandstone roof.

The federal mine safety agency has yet to release its findings.

[Last modified March 16, 2007, 01:27:43]