Friends and family members console each other at the Nebo Baptist Church in Nebo, Ky. early Thursday morning, April 29, 2010 as they await news on miners, Justin Travis and Michael Carter, who died as a result of a roof fall at Dotiki Mine late Wednesday night. (AP Photo/The Messenger, Jim Pearson)
I wanted to be sure to pass on the update from last evening from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration on the deaths of coal miners Justin Travis and Michael Carter in that huge roof collapse at the Alliance Resource Partners non-union Dotiki Mine in Western Kentucky:
On April 28, at approximately 10:40 p.m. Central Standard Time, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) received word of a roof collapse at the Dotiki Mine (ID 15-02132) in Hopkins County, Ky. Dotiki is operated by Webster County Coal, LLC and owned by Alliance Resource Partners, LP.
Two miners were originally unaccounted for, but on April 29, at 8:35 a.m. CST, rescue personnel located the first victim near the bumper of the continuous mining machine. Around 2:30 p.m., the second victim was found, and rescuers were attempting to remove fallen material and support the roof directly above him. The first victim has been removed from the fall area and transported out of the mine. At 5:30 p.m. CST, the second victim was removed from the fall area and transported to the surface.
MSHA personnel began arriving at the mine at 11:15 p.m. Wednesday night.
Rescue personnel entered the mine beginning around 11:30 p.m., and traveled approximately four miles by conveyance to the area where the miners are trapped. Rescue efforts, which include stabilizing the roof and loading out debris, had to be halted around 4:50 a.m. due to adverse roof conditions. These efforts resumed after the roof was stabilized.
MSHA personnel on site include the district manager, assistant district manager, family liaison, roof control supervisor and a roof control specialist. Representatives from the Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing also are on site.
It was a little hard to find the coverage of this in the Kentucky papers. It is Derby Weekend after all … but here’s a link to the Courier-Journal story and one to the Herald-Leader’s piece.
And here’s the video of Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell discussing the incident on the floor of the U.S. Senate:
But hey, let’s not forget that it was McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, who did everything she could to dismantle mine safety protections for coal workers during her time as President George W. Bush’s Labor Secretary. And remember that at least one coal operator — Bob Murray, whose company brought us the Crandall Canyon disaster — who invoked his friendship with McConnell to get MSHA inspectors to back off problems at one of his mines:
Shouting at a table full of MSHA officials at their district office in Morgantown, W.Va., Murray said: “Mitch McConnell calls me one of the five finest men in America, and the last I checked, he was sleeping with your boss,” according to notes of the meeting. “They,” Murray added, pointing at two MSHA men, “are gone.”
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Go to this and see who else is to blame and flying under the radar for far too long:
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/43484
The Kentucky mine land is owned by Alliance Resource Partners who are just as bad as Natural Resource Partners.
These lands are leased to the mining companies and receive a production based royalty.
Environmental issues and worker safety are not profit centers.
Enough of this, hold the landowners accountable too.
OK … numerous comments to this post have been removed. I’ll ask Mr. Cobb especially, but Vnxq809 also, to please refrain from the personal attacks, ALL CAPS (yelling) and name calling.
I’m going to close down the comments on this particular post and ask you both — and everyone else — to be more respectful of each other and other commenters. Ken.