West Virginia Coal Mine Explosion Killed 25 Workers Update

West Virginia Coal Mine Explosion Killed 25 Workers Update:
Hours after 114 Chinese mine workers were rescued from the flooded Wangjialing mine, 25 coal miners were killed by an explosion at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia. Four workers remain unaccounted for, and resuce efforts have been put on hold until methane gas can be vented out of the mine.
Charleston Gazette staff writers  Ken Ward Jr., Gary A. Harki, and Kathryn Gregory report on the apparent cause of the blast and put it in the context of recent mining tragedies in the region:
Mine safety experts who were in contact with state and federal investigators said initial reports are that the explosion involved methane that built up inside a sealed area of the mine or that leaked through mine seals.
Such a scenario would be a repeat of the 2006 Sago and Darby disasters in West Virginia and Kentucky, which claimed 17 lives and prompted regulators to take a closer look at the safety of the vast sealed areas of underground coal mines for the first time in years.
They also give details on the size of this operation and its troubling safety record:
Our thoughts are with the families whose loved ones have been killed and are still missing . We’ll be monitoring Ken Ward’s Coal Tattoo blog for updates and more information.