'Miscommunication' Behind Mine Deaths Mix-Up
'Miscommunication' behind mine deaths mix-up
The owners of a mine in the United States say a "miscommunication" is responsible for families being told 11 dead miners had survived an explosion.
The International Coal Group had announced that 12 of 13 missing miners had been found alive but the 13th man had died.
However, hours later the company announced that just one miner had survived the explosion at the Sago mine in West Virginia.
Ben Hatfield, the president of the company, blames the earlier report on "miscommunication" .
"The initial report from the rescue team to the command centre indicated multiple survivors, but that information proved to be a miscommunication," he said.
Mr Hatfield says the company had then waited until it could determine which of the miners were dead or alive to tell the families their fate.
He denies the company had confirmed the initial report.
He also says he does not want to assign blame to the rescue team.
Anne Meredith, whose father died in the incident, says she feels the families "were lied to all along".
West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin says he has no idea how the miscommunication occurred.
"I don't have the answers for that. I wish I did. I will," he said, promising to hold an inquiry.
Mr Manchin says he was in a church talking to family members when he became aware of rejoicing that 12 had survived.
He denied that he or his staff had ever confirmed the report.
Mr Manchin says he had begun receiving information that it was not accurate 20 minutes after the announcement.
He says it took almost three hours to correct the mistake, because authorities did not want to get it wrong again.
"I can't tell you of anything more heart-wrenching that I have gone through in my life," he said.
Several newspapers splashed headlines such as "Miracle in the Mine" on their front pages, which went to press before the truth emerged.
"Alive! Miners beat odds" was USA Today's headline with a picture of two smiling family members.
Sole survivor
Rescue workers had located the 12 on Tuesday night.
They had been trapped 4,000 metres inside the mine since Monday morning, when the explosion spread lethal gases in the mine.
The sole survivor, Randal McCloy, was taken to a nearby hospital and then transferred to the larger West Virginia University Hospital.
A doctor there says the 27-year-old is being treated for dehydration and a collapsed lung and is being kept sedated.
"I think youth always helps," the doctor said, commenting on possible reasons why Mr McCloy survived while the others perished.
Earlier, Terry Helms, the first of the missing miners to be discovered, was found dead near the site of the explosion.
The later discovery of an empty miner transport car further away gave rise to hopes the 12 other men had been deeper in the mine and had escaped to an area where they could avoid toxic gases.
- Reuters