Four years ago today, an explosion ripped through a small underground coal mine in Upshur County, W.Va. Soon, the nation’s eyes were focused on the Sago Mine, as a frantic rescue effort was waged to try to save 13 coal miners trapped deep underground.

Twelve of those miners never made it home to their families. They were (left to right and top to bottom, above): Tom Anderson, Terry Helms, Marty Bennett, Martin Toler, Marshall Winans, Junior Hamner, Jesse Jones, Jerry Groves, James Bennett, Jackie Weaver, Fred Ware, and David Lewis.

Of the 13 workers who did not escape immediately after the explosion inside a sealed area of the International Coal Group mine, only Randal McCloy (right) was alive by the time rescuers reached the crew more than 40 hours later.

It was the worst mining disaster in West Virginia in nearly 40 years, and brought a renewed focus to the nation’s mine safety efforts, which had suffered major budget and staffing cuts — along with an industry-friendly focus on “compliance assistance” — during the Bush administration.

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