West Virgina Mine Disaster, 25 Dead, 4 Still Missing

WEST VIRGINA MINE HORROR …

It is being reported now that 25 miners are dead and 4 are still missing following the deadly explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine-South in Raleigh County. This tragedy has become  the deadliest U.S. mining disaster in 25 years.

Rescuers likely won’t be able to resume their search until at least early this evening for four West Virginia coal miners who remain unaccounted for following a huge explosion Monday afternoon that killed 25 workers, officials said early this morning.

The deaths at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County already ranked as the worst U.S. coal-mining disaster in a quarter century, and officials feared the count would go even higher.

At least 25 dead in West Virginia mine disaster

An explosion ripped through a West Virginia coal mine owned by Massey Energy, killing at least 25 miners in the deadliest U.S. mining disaster since 1984.

Governor Joe Manchin said on Tuesday morning that four miners remained missing deep underground and that 11 of the dead had been identified. “You can imagine the anxiety for the family members,” Manchin told the CBS “Early Show.”

The explosion occurred Monday afternoon at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, about 30 miles south of the state capital Charleston.

Pray for the families of the miners who lost their lives, their families and those that are still missing. Pray that some can still be found alive.

“This is still a rescue operation,” said Kevin Stricklin of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. “We can’t give up hope at all. All we have left is hope.”