At 6.31 a.m. this morning, the power went out at the mine. Shortly thereafter at about 6.40 p.m.,

the surface received a call from the one left section that indicated that they had lost power and

that something had happened and that they were leaving the mine. At that time, our mine's superintendent

began heading underground to investigate. He also, as he was underground, he told the

dispatcher to begin the notification process. After communications with the mine superintendent

from underground, within a few minutes after going underground, we began to understand

that something serious had happened and immediately efforts began to contact M.

Shia and the state regulatory agencies in accordance with our process.

Around 5.50 a.m., on January 2nd, 2006, in Sago, West Virginia, a team of 27 coal miners were

preparing for their first chip to the new year. The team split almost in half across two carts

to be transported deep into the mine for another hard day's work. 13 men in the first cart began

their descent into darkness. The 14 and the 2nd were not too far behind. At 6.30 a.m., an explosion

rattled the windows of the houses nearby. The citizens of Sago and Buckhamon awoke to discover that

there had been an accident at the mine where many of their family members and friends worked.

There wasn't much information immediately available, but there were reports that 13 men were

trapped underground. According to the miners on the 2nd cart, the blast had knocked over concrete

walls that were used to direct airflow. They were able to reverse course and escape, but the first

team was two miles deep and trapped on the other side. Some of the members from the 2nd team,

including the four men whose brother was among the men on the 1st cart, tried to enter the mine to

attempt rescue, but retreated when air quality detectors indicated that there were toxic levels

of carbon monoxide present, a discouraging sign, but on the other hand, only the concrete walls

had crumbled. There did not appear to be any structural damage or collapses inside of the mine,

...