Miners' escape bid detailed
Debris may have blocked vehicle
SAGO, W. Va. -- The men trapped inside Sago Mine tried to bulldoze their way out in a mine car before following their training and barricading themselves behind a makeshift protective curtain, according to the family of the disaster's sole survivor.
By the time rescue workers reached the 12 miners more than 41 hours after the explosion, all but one had died of carbon monoxide poisoning. It was West Virginia's worst coal-mining accident in more than 35 years.
Rick McGee, the brother-in-law of survivor Randal McCloy Jr., said yesterday that Ben Hatfield, International Coal Group Inc. chief executive, told the family the miners apparently tried to use the same mechanized mine car that they rode into the mine to force their way out, but debris blocked them.
''They found footprints," said McGee. The men ''tried to go back out of the mine. This ain't hearsay. This came from Hatfield's mouth."
Lara Ramsburg, a spokeswoman for Governor Joe Manchin III, said yesterday that it's also the state's understanding that the men tried to escape.
''They couldn't get that accomplished," Ramsburg said. ''They then, being trained, turned around and went back to the face, where they barricaded themselves." In a mine, the face is where miners are removing coal.
Hatfield did not return repeated requests for comment yesterday about whether the miners tried to escape. In a statement issued to the Associated Press, he said the miners probably believed a fire or debris from the explosion was blocking their path.
In the days since the accident, Hatfield has said it's possible the men could have walked to a section of the mine with clean air, and then made their way out -- an assertion he repeated in his statement to the AP.
In an interview with USA Today published yesterday, Hatfield said that if the trapped miners had had wireless communication devices, it would have been possible to tell them of a safe way out. The only method of communication at Sago, a wired phone, was destroyed in the blast.
Hatfield told USA Today his company would consider whether to issue miners radios. The company declined yesterday to say whether it has made changes in safety procedures at its other mines.
McCloy, 26, remains in critical condition, in a partial coma and still fighting a fever. Dr. Julian Bailes said there is ''no clear clue of the extent of his injury or the time of his recovery." 