Rescue workers located four bodies deep in a West Virginia coal mine, dashing any faint hopes of finding more survivors of a deadly explosion that has claimed 29 lives, the worst U.S. mining disaster in a generation.
Officials announced the grim discovery at the Upper Big Branch Mine around 1 a.m. Saturday, after first notifying family members.
It doesn’t appear that the miners survived the initial explosion. In total, that means that 29 people died in this mine disaster. That’s the worst mine disaster in the U.S. since 1970. The focus will now turn to the Massey Energy Company and its poor safety record.
As The Post reported Friday, safety violations have caused the evacuation of portions of that coal mine 64 times since the beginning of 2009. According to Mine Safety and Health News, in that year, 48 serious violations were recorded. That doesn’t compare well with other mines of similar size. For instance, the Deer Creek mine in Utah has had only one serious violation in the past 15 years. Poor ventilation, high accumulation of combustible materials and inadequate protections from roof falls were the most oft-cited violations.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski and some of the country’s highest military and civilian leaders died when the presidential plane crashed as it came in for a landing in thick fog in western Russia on Saturday, killing 96, officials said.
Russian and Polish officials said there were no survivors on the Soviet-era Tupolev, which was taking the president, his wife and staff to events marking the 70th anniversary of the massacre of thousands of Polish officers by Soviet secret police.
The Army chief of staff, Gen. Franciszek Gagor, National Bank President Slawomir Skrzypek and Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer were also on board, the Polish foreign ministry said.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Poland and the friends and families of the other victims. What a horrible tragedy.