At least seven dead in US mine blast

MONTCOAL, West Virginia - Rescuers converged on a remote coal mine where seven workers were killed and 19 missing deep underground after an explosion rocked the operation that has a history of violations for not properly ventilating highly combustible methane gas, safety officials said.

The blast occurred around 3 p.m. (1900 GMT) Monday at Massey Energy Co.`s sprawling Upper Big Branch mine as nine miners on a vehicle that takes workers in and out of the mine were leaving, said Kevin Stricklin, agency administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health. Stricklin said a crew ahead of the vehicle felt a blast of air and went back in to find out what happened.

They found the nine workers, seven of whom were killed. Two others were hurt and in the hospital, officials said. Stricklin said two other nine-person crews and a safety inspector who had been working alone were believed trapped, perhaps about a mile and a half (2 1/2 kilometers) underground. Stricklin said officials don't believe a roof collapsed.

Nine rescue crews usually made up of six members each were at the mine about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Charleston, said federal Mine Safety and Health Administration spokeswoman Amy Louviere. It was unclear whether the mine was safe enough for rescuers to enter and looking for the trapped men.

"We want to assure the families of all the miners we are taking every action possible to locate and rescue those still missing," said Massey CEO Don Blankenship, who confirmed the number of dead and missing in a statement.

Distraught family members were briefed and taken to a Massey building off-limits to the media.

MSHA officials didn't yet know what caused the blast, but federal records say the Eagle coal seam releases up to 2 million cubic feet (0.06 million cubic meters) of methane gas into the mine every 24 hours. That is a large amount, said Dennis O'Dell, health and safety director for the United Mine Workers labor union.

Methane is one of the great dangers of coal mining. The colorless, odorless gas is often sold to American consumers to heat homes and cook meals. In mines, giant fans are used to keep methane concentrations below certain levels. In 2006, 12 miners died in a methane explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia. If concentrations are allowed to reach between 5 per cent and 15 per cent, the gas can explode with a spark roughly similar to the static charge created by walking across a carpet in winter.

In the past year, federal inspectors have cited Massey and fined the company more than $382,000 for repeated serious safety violations involving its ventilation plan and equipment at the mine run by subsidiary Performance Coal Co. The violations also cover failing to follow the ventilation plan, allowing combustible coal dust to pile up, and having improper firefighting equipment.

Two airtight rescue chambers near the blast site are stocked with enough food, water and air for the miners to survive four days. Another two chambers are a bit farther away. West Virginia requires all underground mines to have wireless communications and tracking systems designed to survive explosions and other disasters. However, Stricklin said much of the equipment near the missing men was likely destroyed in the explosion.

The company did not provide details on the extent of the damage at the mine that has had three other fatalities in the last dozen years.

The mine, which cannot be seen from the road, has 19 openings and roughly 7-foot (2.13-meter) ceilings. Inside, it's criss-crossed with railroad tracks used for hauling people and equipment.

The mine produced 1.2 million tons of coal in 2009, according to the mine safety agency, and has about 200 employees, most of whom work underground on different shifts.

President Barack Obama expressed his condolences and offer any federal assistance, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.

Massey Energy is a publicly traded company based in Richmond, Virginia, that has 2.2 billion tons of coal reserves in southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia and Tennessee, according to the company's website. It ranks among the top five US coal producers and is among the industry's most profitable. It has a spotty safety record.

The federal mine safety administration fined Massey a then-record $1.5 million for 25 violations that inspectors concluded contributed to the deaths of two miners trapped in a fire at a different mine in January 2006. The company later settled a lawsuit naming it, several subsidiaries and CEO Blankenship as defendants. Aracoma Coal Co. later paid $2.5 million in fines after the company pleaded guilty to 10 criminal charges in the fire.

In each of the last three years, Massey has had multiple operations cited by MSHA as repeat violators of safety and health rules and ordered to improve their conditions. Upper Big Branch was not one of them.

Last year, the number of miners killed on the job in the US fell for a second straight year to 34, the fewest since officials began keeping records nearly a century ago. That was down from the previous low of 52 in 2008.

- AP