Saturday, January 21, 2006

Trapped Miners Found Dead [Sago Outrage]

MELVILLE, W.Va. - Rescuers on Saturday found the bodies of two coal
miners who disappeared after a conveyor belt caught fire deep inside
a coal mine.

The bodies of Don I. Bragg, 33, and Ellery Hatfield, 47, were found
in an area of the mine where rescue teams had been battling the fire
for more than 40 hours.

"We have found the two miners we were looking for," said Doug
Conaway, director of the state Office of Miners' Health Training and
Safety. "Unfortunately we don't have a positive outcome."

The miners became separated Thursday evening as their 12-member crew
tried to escape a conveyor belt fire at Aracoma Coal's Alma No. 1
mine in Melville, about 60 miles southwest of Charleston. The rest of
the crew and nine other miners working in a different section of the
mine escaped unharmed.

Gov. Joe Manchin and U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller informed families of
the deaths at a church prior to making the announcement, along with
Don Blankenship, chairman of the mine's owner, Massey Energy.

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