2 Dead in West Virginia Coal Mine Collapse

Mine had loads of safety violations
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted May 13, 2014 8:31 AM CDT
2 Dead in West Virginia Coal Mine Collapse
Police direct traffic outside another West Virginia coal mine following a 2010 disaster, in this file photo.   (AP Photo/Jeff Gentner, File)

Two miners were killed when the roof of a West Virginia coal mine collapsed following a "coal outburst" last night. The coal outburst, a sudden violent eruption of coal, gas, and rock from a coal face, came at 8:47pm, and the roof collapse was reported at about 10pm, WSAZ reports. The victims have been identified as Eric Legg, 48, and Gary Hensley, 46. No other injuries have been reported and no other miners are believed trapped.

At 10:30pm emergency crews were called, and family members gathered outside the mine. "You just don't know what's gonna happen," the daughter of one miner said, according to Fox News. "You don't know if you're gonna get to tell 'em you love them again." The mine, Patriot Coal's Brody Mine #1, received 253 "significant and substantial" safety violations in last year's Mine Safety and Health Administration review, WOWK-TV reports, including roof hazards, methane hazards, and emergency preparedness/escapeway hazards. It also failed to report some injuries. (More West Virginia stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X