MORGANTOWN - The author of a new book about a 1968 explosion that killed 78 West Virginia coal miners contends the tragedy behind passage of the federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act was both preventable and poorly investigated, stripping the victims' families of the justice and compensation they deserved. West Virginia University journalism professor Bonnie Stewart worked for five years on the forthcoming "No. 9: The 1968 Farmington Mine Disaster," digging up records that revealed the victims might have been able to escape before the blast if a safety alarm on a ventilation fan had worked.
For more on books and reading, visit West Virginia Book Festival: The Blog at http://blogs.wvgazette.com/wvbookfestival g ONLINE wvgazette.com
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- When 29 men perished in a single, powerful explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine a year ago, the tragedy stunned the nation -- but the aftermath was stunning too, both for its seismic impact on major players in the coal industry and for the absence of any sweeping reforms. To the people in coal country, what's happened to mine owner Massey Energy is downright mind-boggling: "King of Coal" Don Blankenship has been dethroned -- pushed out with a take-it-or- leave it retirement package -- and the company he ruled with an iron will for more than a decade might soon vanish in a $7.1 billion buyout.
GREYMOUTH, New Zealand - The explosion that left 29 miners missing in New Zealand was a series of bangs that pelted debris and made it a struggle to breathe, said a coal cutter who lost consciousness but eventually walked out of the tunnel with minor injuries. Toxic gases after Friday's explosion still prevented rescuers from entering the mine Sunday, and evidence of heat underground was concerning officials, who feared there could be another blast.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - When 29 men perished in a single, powerful explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine a year ago, the tragedy stunned the nation - but the aftermath was stunning too, both for its seismic impact on major players in the coal industry and for the absence of any sweeping reforms. To the people in coal country, what's happened to mine owner Massey Energy is mind-boggling: "King of coal" Don Blankenship has been dethroned - pushed out with a take-it-or-leave-it retirement package - and the company he ruled with an iron will for more than a decade may soon vanish in a $7.1 billion buyout by rival Alpha Natural Resources.
The U.S. coal industry needs to adopt more effective dust- control measures and comprehensive monitoring for explosive gases to avoid disasters like the one that killed 29 miners a year ago at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch Mine, an independent investigator said Thursday. Davitt Mc-Ateer, a longtime safety advocate who leads an independent team of experts, also said that criminal mine-safety statutes need to be broadened and federal regulators need to abandon closed-door investigations after major accidents.
The owner of the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia has settled wrongful death lawsuits with families of all 29 victims of the April 2010 disaster there, an attorney for the estates of two dead miners said Tuesday. Alpha Natural Resources Inc. spokesman Ted Pile acknowledged the discussions, but would not comment, citing a confidentiality agreement.
SORANGE, Pakistan - Rescuers used shovels and bare hands Monday to dig out miners buried after a gas explosion deep in a coal mine in southwestern Pakistan, lining up wooden caskets to await the bodies from an accident that left 52 feared dead. More than 200 people stood outside the mine waiting to help or hear news from the search, but since the accident Sunday only bodies - 27 of them - have been recovered.
BEIJING - Rescuers were working today to try to save 57 miners who were trapped in a coal mine in central China after a rock explosion that followed a small earthquake, state media reported. Four miners were killed in the blast. The accident in the coal mine in the city of Sanmenxia in Henan province occurred Thursday evening when 75 miners were working in the shaft, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Fourteen workers escaped.
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