Another Miner Tragedy

April 5, 2010 was the date of the deadliest mining accident in the United States has seen in four decades. An extensive four-day wait came to a tragic end when 29 miners were pronounced dead after a monumental explosion earlier that week.

This explosion was the most detrimental accident since the 1970 explosion killed 38 at Finley Coal Company, in Hyden, Kentucky.

After the explosion the rescue crews worked over a 100 hours in aggravation searching for the four missing miners. Due to the high levels of methane and carbon monoxide the crews had to slowly inch their way through the debris.

The mining company and state officials has been resistant to release any names of the dead and missing which had left many families in exasperation.

“We remained hopeful the four missing miners would have been found alive,” Don Blankenship the chief executive of Massey Energy, said in his statement. “I personally met with many of the families throughout the week and share their grief at this very painful time.”

In 2008, the Aracoma Coal Company, a subdivision of Massey, pleaded guilty to various safety violations related to a fire. They agreed to pay $4.2 million in criminal fines and civil penalties, which put a huge tamper on the company.

President Obama spoke out to the country and expressed his compassion towards the families of the killed or injured miners. He announced “it’s clear that more needs to be done” speaking about mine safety. The President is requesting a full report on what went wrong and believes that there will need improvement in this industry.

I feel like this story is being played over and over and over again. Why is safety not a top priority? It seems like every year there is a tragedy involving in a death of another miner. Something needs to be done and fast.

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