Ben Hatfield
Ben Hatfield
The Sago Mine disaster was a coal mine explosion on January 2, 2006, at the Sago Mine in Sago, West Virginia, United States, near the Upshur County seat of Buckhannon. The blast and collapse trapped 13 miners for nearly two days; only one survived. It was the worst mining disaster in the United States since the Jim Walter Resources Mine Disaster in Alabama on September 23, 2001, and the worst disaster in West Virginia since the 1968 Farmington Mine Disaster...
anyone clue damage regret truly
I don't think anyone had a clue how much damage was about to be created. And we truly regret that.
believed best decisions extreme physical rightly stress
Rightly or wrongly, we made what we believed to be the best decisions ... while working under extreme stress and physical exhaustion.
perspective
Let's put this in perspective. Who do I tell not to celebrate? I didn't know if there were 12 or 1 (who were alive).
company criticism fully manner news received recognize
We fully recognize the criticism that the company has received about the manner that the news was communicated to the families.
anyone certainly damage feet good group hours knew looking people regret save trying
You have a group of people who have been on their feet for 30 to 40 hours trying to save lives. They were looking desperately for a good outcome. I don't think anyone knew how much damage was going to be created. I certainly regret that.
events great manner regret sincerely
We sincerely regret the manner under which events unfolded this morning. The events are a great tragedy.
allowed events longer manner regret sincerely
We sincerely regret the manner in which the events unfolded. We allowed the jubilation to go on longer than it should have.
allowed events longer manner process regret sincerely
We sincerely regret the manner in which the events unfolded this morning. In the process of being cautious, we allowed the jubilation to go on longer than it should have.
early events manner regret sincerely
We sincerely regret the manner in which the events unfolded early this morning.
hour likelihood outcome passes successful
With each hour that passes the likelihood of a successful outcome diminishes.
continue forward hard push
We all continue to push forward as hard as we can so long as there is hope.
forward hope people push quickly shred
We will push forward as quickly as we can as long as there is a shred of hope that we can get our people out safely.
certainly confident employees explosion final highly joint knowledge pleased reach similar unusual word work
While our independent investigation is certainly not the final word on the explosion, we are confident that the joint federal-state investigation will reach a similar conclusion. We are pleased that we can get our Sago employees back to work with the knowledge that the explosion was an unpredictable and highly unusual accident.
blazing miles
We can't see 2 miles underground. We didn't know if there was a blazing fire.