I know this isn’t an outdoors-related post, but right now I’m having a hard time thinking of anything other than the families of the miners killed, injured and missing in yesterday’s coal-mine explosion near Sundial, Raleigh County.

So far the death toll stands at 25, with two hospitalized and four still missing. It could be hours — interminably long, agonizing hours — before family members discover the fate of their loved ones. Rescue crews are trying to clear the mine of methane and carbon monoxide so they can reach the area where any survivors might be sheltered.

As a young man, I worked underground in a mine not terribly far from the one that exploded. My brother, a mine-rescue expert, aided the rescue effort at 2006′s Sago disaster and is helping coordinate shipments of equipment to rescuers at Sundial. These tragedies, when they happen, affect me deeply.

Please pray for the miners , for their families, and for the safety of the rescue workers.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 10:17 am and is filed under Personal Notes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.