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...
believe examined high increase number standards violations virtually
We believe the high number of violations is attributable to a significant increase in enforcement standards by the MSHA inspectors that examined the mine virtually every day.
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.
believe determined fewer forward hard industry less men move pace people quicker talented
We determined we could move forward at a quicker pace by rehabilitating fewer entries and doing less construction on the way in. I believe we have the smartest, most talented people in the industry working as hard as they can to get the men out safely.
believed communication factual rightly second statements suspicious
We were just as suspicious of the second communication as the first. We didn't know what to think. Rightly or wrongly, we believed it was important to make factual statements to the family.
believe benefit productive saying
We didn't believe there was any productive benefit of saying there could be one (victim), there could be 12. We have conflicting information.
believe defending focus mine people
Our focus is not on defending records, our focus is on getting people out of there and that's all we want to focus on at this point. We believe the mine was safe.
believe felt heard heavy miners percussion skilled system
They felt the percussion and heard the noise. We believe they probably encountered heavy smoke, and the ventilation system was obstructed. They then did what skilled miners do.
results
We are very discouraged by the results of this test.
area breathing miners safe secure tried
These miners tried desperately to secure an area of safe breathing environment.
clinging families hope progress
Progress has been slow. Families are clinging to every hope of survival.
hot information kitchen parking people sharing talking
Everyone was talking about it in the parking lots, in the kitchen and everywhere. People that got the information were sharing it because that was the hot rumor.
initial location miners missing monday multiple remaining reports rough since turned
At that location they encountered a rough barricade structure. With 12 remaining miners that had been missing since the Monday explosion. Initial reports indicated multiple survivors, but that turned out to be a miscommunication.
caused wrong
We don't what went wrong and caused this explosion.
accident coal learn lessons protect
We must learn the lessons from this accident that will better protect coal miners.