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The Situation Room
Coal Mining Accident in West Virginia Traps a Dozen Miners.
Aired January 02, 2006 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: To our viewers, you are in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are coming in from all around the world, all the time.
Happening right now, it's 4:00 p.m. in West Virginia, where a powerful explosion traps a dozen coal miners deep underground. A delicate and dangerous rescue operation is underway there. Flashback to three and a half years ago, a group of miners trapped for 77 hours in Pennsylvania. We'll tell you how they managed to get out alive. I am Tom Foreman. And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
We begin with a developing story out of West Virginia. An early- morning explosion as miners were descending for the first shift at a mine near Buckhannon in the northeastern part of the state. Six of them made it out alive, 12 others were trapped more than a mile beneath the ground.
There has been no contact with these missing miners and the rescue operation is being hampered by high levels of deadly methane gas. Steve Milligan is the deputy emergency management director for the county -- Upshur County, West Virginia. He joins us by phone now. Steve, can you tell us what the latest is on these folks?
STEVE MILLIGAN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, W.V. OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (on phone): Yes, the mine rescue crew has entered the mine to try to rescue the miners. They're doing all they can to get to the miners at this time. Still no communication at all from the miners.
FOREMAN: Do you have any sense, Steve, are they going in through existing shafts and trying to cut through piles of rubble or is this a situation where you'll be looking at cutting a new shaft? Do you have any sense of that at this point?
MILLIGAN: Right now they're going through the original shaft, the original entrance of the mine. It's 5,800 feet, it's a little more than a mile from the mine portal, into where the collapse has happened. Now as far as how far deep underground that is, after you go in through a mile in, it's hard to say. But you would go down at some depth and then go a mile underground to where the collapse is.
FOREMAN: So at this point, we don't have a clear indication of how much earth is potentially between the collapsed area and where you would hope that these men are?
MILLIGAN: Correct, we don't know for sure.
FOREMAN: And what happens in a situation like this, from your experience? Will there just be a steady working around the clock on that area, or will this be something that they attempt for nine, 10, 12 hours and if they're making no real progress or seeing nothing but collapse ahead of them, they back off and reconsider? What happens?
MILLIGAN: I would assume they work as long as they can. They are currently looking at the maps of the mine, which I'm told are updated on a regular basis, maybe even daily. You could assume that if they knew where that collapse was, they would shift to the surface, they may be able to go down to that point. But that speculation and initially they're going to try to go in through the existing shaft and try to get to the miners that way.
FOREMAN: So is there any reasonable guess at this point, when we're talking about the distance between where they are and where the miners might be, even though it may be a very broad range, what is the range of possibility?
MILLIGAN: Say that again?
FOREMAN: What is the range of possibility from where the rescuers are and where these men might be if they are alive?
MILLIGAN: It's at least one mile from the entrance of the mine to where the miners are. As far as when you get to the wall of debris, how far back in, I have no idea.
FOREMAN: Nobody really knows at this point. My understanding is that this happened at about 8:00 this morning and that other miners were headed in at the time when they heard this explosion. Is that your understanding? Or what else can you tell us about the events at that time?
MILLIGAN: The call came into the emergency services around 7:30. It happened some point before that time, but it would take some time for the miners to get back out to the shaft to call for help. And as far as whether they would go into the mine or coming out, I don't know that exactly.
FOREMAN: So the only people to come out of the mine were these people who were going in for that shift and they came out completely on their own and then called for help. And there's been no communication with the other men behind?
MILLIGAN: That's my understanding, yes.
FOREMAN: What do you do at this point to prepare for the around- the-clock operation? Because you certainly have to have many people converging on that area and you have to make this work around the clock and keep the rescuers up for doing the job at their very best.
MILLIGAN: Yes, one thing the Red Cross is at a local church helping with the families and there are mental health professionals on the scene. We have a command post set up. The miners themselves, the company and the mine rescue crews are taking care of themselves inside the gate as far as we know. But we have firefighters on scenes to direct traffic and we're bringing food into the rescuers. But as far as local fire, police, and EMS, we can't do anything until the people are brought out of the mine. We're not allowed to go in the mine unless you're certified through OSHA.
FOREMAN: Thank you very much, Mr. Milligan. We appreciate your time. We'll be checking back with you shortly to learn more about that.
Right now, a radio reporter, Joe Ludski with WDNE radio is on the scene. Zoe, excuse me, mistakenly said Joe there. It's Zoe Ludski is on the scene and can tell us a little bit more about what's happening at this very moment right at the mine. Zoe?
ZOE LUDSKI, REPORTER, WDNE RADIO (on phone): Tom, thank you very much. We've just had a press conference. It was sort of hosted by Roger Nicholson, who is a senior V.P. and general counsel for the International Coal Group Incorporated. That coal group, by the way, just merged and took over this site in late November. So they're fairly new to this site. Gene Kitts was also there, senior V.P. of mining services with the International Coal Group.
In fact, the explosion took place at 6:30 this morning in Sago Mine No. 1. It was a production crew that managed to escape. They were underground but on just the other side of the explosion. However, you know, for example, there is one brother who is with the production crew that escaped. His brother is on the other side of the explosion.
There are 13 miners who are trapped at this stage. And people are concerned about their level of experience. Apparently one person trapped under there has about 35 years of experience. Other than that, they're not sure how well-trained these men are.
At this time, there is a lot of gas being emitted from the site. They had initially said it might have been methane, but they're saying now it's not methane gas, nor is it a natural gas. They hope to have an update for us at 5:00 p.m. Rescue crews, there are now five on site that are preparing to enter the mine.
Everything has to be done by hand because of the gas, they can't bring any equipment in. They say they're following normal procedures by the state for a rescue operation. The 13 miners that are trapped were the morning shift, they had entered the mine for their eight-hour shift, carrying their water and lunch. But that is all that they have with them. There are no other sort of emergency kits further into the mine. And there has been no communication. People concerned, but determined are the words that Roger Nicholson used to recover the miners.
FOREMAN: Zoe, you said there was gas coming out. Now they don't think it's methane or a natural gas. Did they give any clue as to what that could be or why it would be emerging from the ground there?
LUDSKI: Tom, they refused to comment on that. They will not say what kind of a gas it is. We've heard varying reports on what it might be. We've also heard that they are drilling holes to try and let some of the gas release by itself.
It is a draft mine, and what that means is it's a mine that you walk into. There is only one entrance. And it sort of goes back in on a slope. The explosion apparently occurred about 2,600 feet back from the mine. The miners are apparently about three miles back from the entrance to the mine. Like I said, they're going to have to do everything by hand to try and remove whatever debris is in the way. Again, Roger Nicholson would not comment on what sort of debris. He says he's not sure what it is.
FOREMAN: Zoe, let me ask you something. You mentioned where the explosion was and where the miners are. That's a sizable difference. My guess is, that based on that, there is pretty high hope there that the miners who are trapped are in fact alive or at least were not caught in the cave-in. Is that accurate?
LUDSKI: I can't say yes or no to that. They really have no idea. It does sound hopeful, but I guess you have no idea how much debris has fallen because of the explosion. So they're not sure on the condition of the miners.
FOREMAN: Zoe, I want you to hold on for just a moment. We're going to go to Charlotte, North Carolina, where we're joined by Bruce Dial, who is an expert on mining. And maybe you can tell us a little bit more about this, Bruce.
Bruce, when there is this difference -- let's start with this. Between where the explosion is and where you believe the miners are, does that speak well for their chances of survival or not?
BRUCE DIAL, MINE EXPERT: Well, naturally, the farther away from the explosion area the miners are, the more likely they are to survive the explosion itself. One thing about it, when an explosion happens underground, you have that concussion from the explosion.
And that concussion has to go somewhere. So it goes up the tunnels, up the drifts, through the only way that it can escape. So if they were far enough away from the explosion area themselves, the least likely they were to be killed by the explosion.
FOREMAN: What about the status of these types of shafts on these types of mines? If part of it collapses, is it a natural domino-like progression, that the next parts may collapse, or are there failsafes built into that system to stop that.
DIAL: Well, they have roof-bolting systems that they install throughout the whole mine. Usually the roof or the rock will not come in unless there's something like an explosion, but it's usually contained within that area. It shouldn't cause a domino effect or anything like that throughout the rest of the mine.
FOREMAN: What are the other big dangers though, in your experience now for the men who are remaining in the mine? If you're talking about that much area, if they survived the initial explosion, theoretically a lot of air in there. But if you have this gas issue, what else do they need to be worried about?
DIAL: Well, the gases are the important thing. She mentioned the methane or natural gas. The methane is the usually igniter gas. It's the gas that will start the explosion, and then the coal dust in the mine will actually continue on throughout the mine.
The other type of main gas you want to worry about is carbon monoxide that would be from the fire or from the explosion itself. Both of those could be a danger to the miners.
FOREMAN: So if there's carbon--if there's fire and explosion on the backside of the cave-in, it could be consuming their oxygen very quickly is a big concern?
DIAL: It could be unless it's being replenished and flooded through the mine and out a return area. I'm not familiar with this mine. I don't know the ventilation system. But it's probably got a ventilation system that would try to continue to flood the oxygen through the whole mine.
FOREMAN: Bruce, let me ask you one more question about this. One of the concerns that Zoe raised a moment ago, was that there may be a lot of inexperienced men in this mine right now. At a time like this, what does an experienced miner do? And what might an inexperienced miner not know to do?
DIAL: Well, every miner before they're allowed to go underground and work, they have to have 48 hours of training, which includes mine disaster and how to use the self-rescuers that they have, and what to do, how to barricade, how to test for gas.
FOREMAN: What do you mean self-rescuers, Bruce?
DIAL: Every miner is required to have a self-rescuer that would provide oxygen for about an hours period of time, which may help them to get out of the dangerous area.
FOREMAN: OK. I want to have you hold on for a moment, if you would please Bruce.
We're going to go back to Zoe for a minute.
Zoe, talk to me a little bit more about the concern about the level of experience of these young miners who are in there now. When we talk about one person with 35 years of experience, is it the sense that the others have only a couple of years or six months or ten years? What?
LUDSKI: Tom, when it comes to that, they've released absolutely no information on the miners that are trapped. And I'm sure that is out of care for the family and friends that are here. This is a very close-knit small community and something along this line is quite devastating. So no word on the age or experience level other than the one gentleman with 35 years of experience.
One of the major concerns here, though, and people sort of upset and angry about this is that it took until maybe an hour ago for there to be rescue crews on site. There was one team here. They can't go underground with just one rescue crew. They have to have a backup crew, as well.
And there was a significant period of time before rescue crews were available to be here. I asked the question at the press conference why it took so long. They said possibly because it takes some time to muster the crews together and get the equipment here. But, again, family members quite upset about that.
FOREMAN: Zoe, you said, make sure we have this correct because there has been some dispute over this throughout the day, there are 13 miners now officially known to be missing in this mine, is that correct?
LUDSKI: Thirteen miners confirmed unaccounted for.
FOREMAN: And the accident we are now told happened at about 6:30 this morning?
LUDSKI: Approximately 6:30 this morning, and they are not sure what the cause was. At that time, there was a severe thunderstorm in the area. And reports initially were saying that it could have been lightning that struck and maybe sparked something to cause the explosion. But that is not confirmed.
Roger Nicholson, senior V.P. for International Core Group Incorporated said he could not confirm that, but that is a suspicion of something that might have caused the explosion.
FOREMAN: Zoe Ludski from radio station WDNE helping us out very much there. We also have Bruce Dial, a mine safety expert standing by. I'm going to ask you both to standby.
We are going to come back with much more on this. We're giving you the very latest on what has happened with this terrible, terrible accident in West Virginia. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: Welcome back. We're bringing you the very latest information on this terrible mining disaster on the first working day of the new year down in West Virginia.
Tony Harris is standing by at the CNN center with the latest updates on news from the scene--Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Tom, just want to give you the latest that we have on this situation, as you mentioned in West Virginia.
The West Virginia governor, Joe Manchin, talked to Kyra Phillips last hour. And told us that he received news of this mine explosion just before 7:00 a.m. this morning. Certainly matching information that you've been getting in your interviews so far in THE SITUATION ROOM.
We understand the mine is being vented right now. Teams are attempting to get that bad air out and get some good air in. That there are twin gas problems that are being sorted out right now. The build up of a carbon monoxide gas.
And then there is this issue of methane gas. We know that earlier during the course of the day, methane gas was an issue and that it would not allow, because there was a build up in the area, crews could not get down into that mine.
As you were told a few moments ago by Zoe Ludski, it seems that a crew is now trying to make progress in getting into that mine shaft and to do whatever it can to rescue those miners.
The governor also told us that there were two crews who were going into the mine at the time of the explosion, and that it was the second team that actually heard the explosion. That team tried to go back in to save colleagues but couldn't.
And one other quick note, Tom, this is information that's been confirmed now by CNN. The Sago Mine, the mine in question here, was cited by federal inspectors for 46 alleged violations of federal mine health and safety rules. And the more serious alleged violations involve safeguarding against roof falls and the mine's plan to control methane and breathable dust.
That is certainly a story that we will be following and doing more reporting on in the hours and days ahead. Tom, back to you.
FOREMAN: Thank you so much Tony Harris in Atlanta.
A short time ago, we mentioned the mine accident in Pennsylvania in 2002. You may well remember it. It was a big event at the time. Michael Schweiker was governor when that accident happened. And he's on the phone with us now.
Governor, thank you for joining us on this awful day. But you have had a lot of experience with this sort of thing. What are your thoughts at this moment?
MARK SCHWEIKER, FORMER PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR: Well, with the families, the folks atop the surface. I mean, they are wondering how their loved ones are going to fare. We are already a good nine, 10 hours into this, and the anxiety grows. So my heart goes out to them.
And certainly down below, we hope that they are able to withstand, you know, a greatly destabilized condition, and hopefully they are going to catch a break and we can find them.
FOREMAN: As a governor, when something like this happens in your state, specifically a mining accident, what are you looking for from the local people, the federal people, the expert who's are brought in? What do you count on?
SCHWEIKER: In the early hours, considered that it's life and death, is instant deployment. And the ability to dependably assess the situation.
Ours is markedly different in that it was, as you may remember a water incursion. Great volume of water because they had pierced through an adjacent, abandoned mine.
As we've come to know during the day, there's a tremendous amount of gas as a result of the explosion. As well, you know, the natural pockets of methane and so on. So that dependable folks who can assess the situation and then at some point, just becomes a matter of mechanical effort. The deployment has to occur on that level.
That's where the governor insists all hands on deck. At this point, given probably that the structural difficulties down below, careful effort will be required.
FOREMAN: So what is the most critical link in this? Is it the people on the ground at the entrance of the mine directing these crews?
SCHWEIKER: I think at this point, it will be, you know, the top experts atop the surface getting as best as they can, weather new firsthand reports about the amount of debris down below, whether or not they can make access, and then how they can go about finding out where the 13 are.
And it's going to be a hit and miss aspect because it sounds like they've got no communication. And just a general feel as to the location of the miners prior to the explosion. So folks can get real insight and then just brute effort at breaking through the rubble.
FOREMAN: How much do you see, in your experience as the governor there dealing with the mining community in Pennsylvania, we're in a very heavily mined region in the East here. How much do you see the mining community pulling together at times like this to try to make sure the resources are there?
SCHWEIKER: There's no question in my mind that the families, and certainly know them well because of my background and having the opportunity to be governor and lieutenant governor in Pennsylvania, but it is a close knit religious-minded group, and I imagine aside from the families themselves directly affected that there are the churches are full. The prayer services have begun.
And for the families themselves, they certainly have conveyed this indirectly to Governor Manchin. I hope they've been able to cordon off the families and give them the privacy they need as they deal with what is the most nightmarish circumstances a mining family can bear.
FOREMAN: As a governor who has been through this, what is the next big piece of news that you're waiting for? I know you're watching us. You're listening to all the sources you have. What is the next big piece of news we should be watching for, communication with them? What?
SCHWEIKER: My gut tells me that aside from some of the approach and design and mechanical decisions, that is, confirming in any means possible that they're alive. And I don't know about the sophistication, the communication system of what was in place prior to the explosion, but you know, through miners' code, just informal tapping, they may be able to pick that up.
But I think that the preoccupation now is to confirm that these miners are alive and that generates the hope.
FOREMAN: Governor, I want to mention while we're watching you here, we're showing pictures of the miners who were rescued in 2002 there in Pennsylvania. An extraordinary story, as you said, they were working in one mine shaft, broke through to another and water flooded in, filled the area up. And they were trapped in a very small area for quite some time before they were pulled out.
One of the complaints at the time was that mining maps were not accurate enough. Some of these miners said they felt that was part of the cause of the accident. Certainly one of the issues when you're trying to locate people is making sure the maps are highly accurate.
How much confidence do you have that the mapping that we have of mines in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and elsewhere are accurate enough to be fully helpful at a time like this?
SCHWEIKER: Well, I would think if they've used -- that you know, the contemporary model and have tracked their excavation all the way through, they have a pretty good feel where they are and thus, the maps are dependable.
The problem in a place like West Virginia or Pennsylvania, is that mining has gone on for so long, that prior to modern times, you know, the filing and monitoring depths and location and the expanse of the mines was just not accomplished until about 25 years ago.
You know, there would be low dependability on some of these reference items and maps, whereas if it's been done in the last 20 years, probably more dependable.
FOREMAN: Thank you very much, Governor Mark Schweiker, former governor of Pennsylvania. Thanks for taking some time to talk to us on a difficult day.
There is a big difference between what happened in Pennsylvania and what happened today. It has something to do with the depth we're talking about, the distance that these people are believed to be from where the accident occurred.
Take a look at this. The Pennsylvania accident, we were talking about people being 240 feet below the surface. They were about 3,000 feet from the entrance of the mine but drilling into them was simplified by this. In this case, we're talking about 5,800 feet. That's very, very far beneath the ground.
For practical purposes, drilling that far would take a very, very long time. I want to turn back to Bruce Dial, the mine safety expert who's looked at an awful lot of this. Bruce, is it even practical to talk about drilling to 5,800 feet?
DIAL: Well, 5,800 feet is not vertical. It's more horizontal. You enter this mine through a slope. It does go down some but it's not strictly 5,500 feet down.
FOREMAN: So what we're showing right here may not be the case. It could be a slope and the distance may be much less from the surface straight down.
DIAL: That's correct, yes.
FOREMAN: When you go to consider this idea of drilling into people like this, talk about the concerns you have.
DIAL: Well, first problem is finding where to drill into. You mentioned the maps. Maps in the modern day mines are very accurate. They have laser systems and things like that to help them. If the -- if they're determining where they are from older maps, like the governor from Pennsylvania said, 25 years old, those maps were not always accurate.
So even if you find out where you think they are and then you try to drill to that point, there's no guarantee they're going to be there.
FOREMAN: So let's say they're 300 feet below the surface, 400 feet, something like that. We don't know. That's just talking for hypothetical discussion right now, what amount of time are we talking about? Because this is always a struggle with time.
DIAL: Well, once they get the drill and the equipment on the property, it won't take them long to go through 300 or 400 feet.
FOREMAN: What is not long though? What does that mean? Several hours, several minutes, what?
DIAL: They could probably get to it in several hours. Probably six hours they could get that far, depending on what kind of drill and what they had to drill through. But it's usually the modern day drills, they'll drill through that distance at a pretty good rate.
FOREMAN: I'm going to interrupt you right now because we have some tape in now from Roger Nicholson from the International Coal Company who is giving us some explanation of what happened. Let's take a listen to that if we could, please.
ROGER NICHOLSON, INTL. COAL COMPANY: Of course, we continue and we are concerned and determined to make every effort to ensure their safety. Another production crew was also underground, but was able to return safely to the surface after the incident.
The incident coincided with a local thunderstorm, but we do not know at this time whether those events were related. Company, state and federal officials are all on site. Five mine rescue teams have arrived at the mine and are making efforts to enter the mine for search and rescue. More mine rescue teams are on the way. Obviously, we will investigate the cause of the incident, but the focus right now is obviously on search and rescue. We are -- in respect of the families, we are conducting frequent updates for the family members, and we anticipate making an update for the media here in approximately, at approximately 5:00.
And so I can try to take any questions. Again, though, we don't have a lot of information at this time.
QUESTION: How far back were they last known to be located, these 13 miners, and how deep would they be relative to the surface?
NICHOLSON: We don't have a precise answer to that, or at least I don't. We did have a crew that went in shortly after the incident to try to reach the area. But they were unable to proceed in a manner that they deemed was safe, due to the conditions of the mine at that time.
QUESTION: Is there a blockage? How deep into the mine is that?
NICHOLSON: I don't know.
QUESTION: We heard methane gas has increased to 27 percent?
NICHOLSON: I'm not aware of that.
QUESTION: Is the methane gas still being emitted, and is it still potentially explosive?
NICHOLSON: We are not -- we have no information that this is a methane-related incident. Isn't that fair to say, Gene?
GENE KITTS, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF MINING SERVICES, INTERNATIONAL COAL GROUP: That's correct.
QUESTION: So just natural gas then?
NICHOLSON: No, I wouldn't say it's natural gas. Again, it occurred simultaneously with a very heavy thunderstorm in the region. So we do not know what the cause is.
QUESTION: There was a major gas smell early this morning was one of the reasons why they pushed us all back across the river. What was that that we were smelling?
NICHOLSON: I don't know the answer to that.
QUESTION: So, Roger, are you telling us you don't know what kind of gases are emitted from that mine?
NICHOLSON: I don't have information that I can share with you at this time. But we do not have any indication that it was a methane- related event at this time.
QUESTION: And at the last briefing, you told us those gases were still venting, and that was why the mine rescue teams could not go in. Is that still the case now?
NICHOLSON: They are preparing to go underground as we speak. We have been monitoring the air. The fans are operating. And we -- you know, that's about all I can tell you right now.
QUESTION: You said you had no communication with them. Were the communication lines taken out by the explosion, or whatever it was? Is that why you don't have any communication?
NICHOLSON: We don't know. I mean, the communications are not working past a certain point in the mine.
QUESTION: And it is my understanding that it was a while when the accident happened before it was reported locally. There was quite a bit of down time. What was the reason for that?
NICHOLSON: I'm not -- I can't speak to that. I don't know. I can say that we're acting in accordance with the normal procedure for something like this. And we are working under the auspices of the state and federal government.
QUESTION: What, if any, provisions, supplies, any life saving items are there in that mine? Can you go back so far to find, let's say, food, water things of those nature?
KITTS: Typically, the miners would have their lunch and would carry water underground with them for their eight-hour shift. Now, beyond that, you know, if the miners are barricaded, as we hope they are, they would prepare themselves to be rescued. And that would mean, of course, rationing whatever food and water they had with them.
QUESTION: Are there any additional provisions past that break point that you know of?
KITTS: Not that I'm aware of.
QUESTION: The five miners that escaped, could you tell us what injuries have been sustained?
NICHOLSON: There were no injuries.
QUESTION: They were able to walk out on their own?
NICHOLSON: Yes.
QUESTION: There were some reports that one miner had his shirt ripped clean off by -- there were no injuries whatsoever?
NICHOLSON: Well, I do not know if -- there were no serious injuries. I don't know if there were cuts and scrapes or the like.
QUESTION: There was one that was transported to St. Joe's and then released for debris in his eye. Is that...
NICHOLSON: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Establish communications with the miners?
NICHOLSON: We are -- we can only enter the mine under coordination with the state and federal government. And we -- those mine teams have to proceed safely. And there is no communication, and there's nothing we can do from the surface to establish communication other than send the mine rescue teams in, which we are preparing to do.
QUESTION: What's the timetable for those rescue teams right now? Are they waiting to get an all clear, or what?
NICHOLSON: They are preparing now, and I can't tell you what the time frame is.
QUESTION: Two questions, Mr. Nicholson. Is the only entry to the mine a shaft, or do you have a slope entry? And the second question is, are you preparing to drill a rescue bore hole in it? And if you are, where would that location be?
KITTS: OK, this is a drift mine. So the coal seam is exposed right at the mine portal sides. You can actually walk on the level back into the mine. There are no other openings besides the portals there at the mine. There are no other shafts or slopes or anything of that sort.
You know, all options are being investigated. As far as drilling a hole from the surface, if that is deemed to be a feasible option, then I'm sure that we and the regulatory authorities will certainly pursue that.
QUESTION: Do you have a drilling crew standing by now in case that option is decided that it's a good option?
KITTS: I don't know the answer to that question.
QUESTION: You said there was debris inside the mine and that's why the rescue teams couldn't go beyond a certain area.
NICHOLSON: I did not say that.
QUESTION: Well, what kind of equipment do they need to use to get to these people? What kind of equipment do they have down there, the teams?
KITTS: In a condition or in a situation following an explosion, the mine rescue teams have to proceed very cautiously to avoid triggering another explosion. They will be working mostly by hand. They will be walking in, checking the atmosphere to make sure that everything is safe. And any debris or additional roof support that needs to be placed will all have to be done by hand. That's one of the aspects of mine rescue that makes this process so slow.
QUESTION: Are they also checking the stability of the part of the mine you can walk into so it won't... KITTS: They will start checking the conditions in the mine as soon as they walk underground.
QUESTION: And what's stopping them so far? If it's not debris, it's gas, atmosphere?
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: ... from entering so far?
KITTS: Actually, the first four to five miners that went underground were actually not a formal mine rescue crew. So they went as far as they thought it was safe. I've not talked with them, so I don't know the conditions that they encountered that led them to turn around and come back out.
The mine rescue teams, on the other hand, will proceed in a very methodical manner. We're collecting all the mine maps that they need. We're collecting all the information that they might possibly need to proceed as safely and as quickly into this mine to where we think the miners are located.
QUESTION: Is there any information you can give us about the miners? Age, anything that you can tell us about them?
KITTS: I don't have access to that information.
QUESTION: Was this a regular production shift, or was this a holiday shift? And after you answer that question, how many men were on this shift? I'm talking about the midnight shift. Would that be correct?
QUESTION: This was the night shift that was in there?
NICHOLSON: It was the morning shift. The mine had been inspected previously, and these guys were going in on their regular shift and started their shift.
QUESTION: So this was a regular production shift, not a holiday shift?
NICHOLSON: Yes.
QUESITON: Why did it take so long for the second rescue team to arrive?
NICHOLSON: Well, they have to muster and then travel to the site. I mean...
QUESTION: Where were they coming from?
NICHOLSON: I don't know. The first -- we have one rescue team. It is my understanding that you cannot enter without a backup team. The state's team was the second team on site. And we have since had three teams from Consal (ph) also join, and others are en route. But I would say that it's merely a fact of mustering, getting your equipment and heading to the mine site, which is somewhat remote, comparatively speaking.
QUESTION: How many people are involved in these teams?
NICHOLSON: Do you want to answer that?
KITTS: I think a mine rescue team is typically about eight people. I'm not sure of that, but I believe it's eight.
QUESTION: And are these people coming from all over the place?
KITTS: We have three teams from Consal (ph), from the northern West Virginia area. There's a team from here in the Upshur County Area, plus the state team, which I would say is probably from the northern West Virginia area. We have a team in Illinois at one of our operations that's on its way here. And there are other teams volunteering their services if needed.
QUESTION: And you can't tell us anything about the logistics of how this rescue will be conducted until you know what you're dealing with, right? Which is why you can't tell us if you're going in from the side or down from above until you know exactly where...
KITTS: That's correct. The mine rescue team has to enter the mine, assess the conditions in the mine, and then they will -- they're trained to develop the strategy for conducting a rescue as they gather new information. So we have to rely on them doing their job. And as someone asked about the possibility of drilling a bore hole from the surface, that's something that can be done, you know, in parallel. So I understand that discussions are being had to see if that's a feasible option.
QUESTION: Would you consider the Sago operation -- is it considered, quote, unquote, a gassy mine to begin with?
KITTS: I'm not aware of a gas problem at this operation. Again, it's under relatively low cover. It is a drift mine. It's not situations where you'd expect to be especially gassy.
QUESTION: Is it possible it's coal dust? Is that a possibility considering the size of the...
KITTS: We're not going to speculate at this point until we have mine rescue teams underground and an investigation is conducted.
(CROSSTALK)
KITTS: Mine rescue team is basically self-contained on foot. It's not safe to operate electrical equipment in gassy conditions and so forth. So everything they do will be done manually.
QUESTION: So there'll be no, like, heavy loaders or anything going in and out?
KITTS: No, no.
QUESTION: Has this mine been cited recently for gas concentrations above the legal limit for production?
NICHOLSON: Not to my knowledge.
QUESTION: Has this mine had other safety problems in the last six months? We understand that they have.
NICHOLSON: I can't speak to their safety record at this point.
QUESTION: Will ICG take over?
NICHOLSON: ICG merged with Anker Energy in late November.
QUESTION: Could I get your name, please, on tape and how do you spell it.
KITTS: Yes, my name is Gene, G-E-N-E, Kitts, K-I-T-T-S, senior vice president, mining services with International Coal Group.
NICHOLSON: And again, we will -- no water entering the mine is not an issue to my knowledge. We will update you again at around 5:00.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Still many things we don't know yet. They talk about the gas in there, what might have happened. Somebody talked about coal dust. Coal dust is very fine in the air, can be very explosive, just the same as dust from corn or oats can be in silos. The same problem. These are the issues we don't have answered yet.
What kind of gas is venting from this? We don't know yet exactly what caused this explosion. We don't know yet. And where these people are, obviously. If you're just catching up with us, 13 men trapped in a mine in West Virginia. We're trying to figure what might be happening with them.
Let's go to our Internet reporter Jacki Schechner who has more on this company that's been involved with this mine and what may have been happening with them in the past -- Jacki?
JACKI SCHECHNER, INTERNET REPORTER: Let me give you an idea what we've done, Tom. You can go up to these U.S. Department of Labor website and do a search on this particular mine. There's a mine identification number. You plug that in, and it will tell you all about who owns it and since when.
Now, it's been owned by Anker Group since January of '02, but we know it was bought out by another company called International Coal Group. We have no idea whether that transformation was seamless, if there was a difference in operations or ownership, specifically, at that time.
What we did do is go take a look at the injuries report. It's important to note there were no fatal injuries that are listed on this chart according to the U.S. Department of Labor. We also looked at the citations and the orders. There are some numbers in there you want to note.
We did a little bit of a tally and since 2002, if you add this up with some rough math, it comes out to about $35,000 worth of fines. So we're going to dig a little deeper into that and find out what they were cited for. But, Tom, you can take a look online at the U.S. Department of Labor.
FOREMAN: Interesting information on a tragedy that continues to unfold. We're following it with all the latest news. Please stick with us, and we'll continue to bring you up-to-date on what is happening in West Virginia with these miners and their families as they go through this struggle. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Stay put.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: Thank you very much for joining us here in THE SITUATION ROOM. About 6:30 this morning, there was an explosion in a coal mine in West Virginia. Some of the miners who were headed into the mine made it out, 13 are trapped inside or believed to be trapped inside. There's been no communication with them. People are trying to get to them now.
Rescue teams are entering this mine and trying to work their way to these men who are very, very far back in the earth. We're going to be following that step by step as we go through these hours. We hope you'll stay with us.
The governor of West Virginia says the inherent dangers of coal mining have been passed along from one generation to another, and he's certainly correct on that. West Virginia families have long taken up this dangerous and important work of mining for this country. The governor spoke with our Kyra Phillips just a little while ago. Kyra joins us from CNN Atlanta, now.
Kyra, what did he have to say about this?
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was pretty amazing that he was here. As you know, he was in town for the Sugar Bowl. He's on his way home, now; he's not going to be staying for the game. As you know, West Virginia's in the game tonight, in the bowl game.
You mentioned those from that area knowing about these accidents and the dangers of mining all too well. He's actually from Farmington, and he said, "Kyra, I know how these mines are. I know how dangerous the work is." He said, "So many of my family members have been in mining. I even lost an uncle in an accident in a mine a number of years ago."
So he understands the dangers and what is taking place at this moment. And I brought up Pennsylvania. I said, "You know, everybody, I think, is praying for those images that we all saw from Somerset, Pennsylvania, where the miners were being brought out alive."
And he said, "You know, this is very different. We're not talking about water, but we're talking about fire, and we're talking about gas, a big difference." So he said, of course, everybody in that community holding tight, praying for a miracle right now.
Now, he did also tell me that there are fluctuating levels with regard to the gases. They're monitoring what's taking place down in that mine. They're monitoring the atmosphere for methane, carbon monoxide, and oxygen. And the governor talked more to me about how long those trapped miners could survive if indeed they're still alive. This is what he said to me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: There's a standard that they have to meet. And I've been through the procedures, I've down in the mines many times myself. And they do have breathing equipment with them. And hopefully, it's to get them to a place where there might be safety.
And they have detections also where they can hopefully detect if it's safe in certain areas before they would take their breathing. So there's always that possibility. There's always that hope and chance that they were able to go to a part of the mine that still had safe air. And they have all the equipment in order to test that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And Tom, as the governor and I were talking right here on the set, of course, he had his cell phone with him. He was on the phone talking to a number of people there in West Virginia. And he said "OK, Kyra, I'm finding out that each miner that's trapped down there did have two hours of life support with them."
Originally, we had talked about possibly only about an hour of life support, but two hours of life support. And also, detectors to tell them where the gas -- how high or high low the gas levels were, which sort of helps them decide, "OK, let's go here, or let's move here."
Now, with regard to the investigation, just taking it another step forward, on the West Virginia mine safety.org website, I asked the governor about some numbers that we found. Twelve fatal accidents in mines in West Virginia in 2004. Three in 2005. Obviously, it was a safer year last year.
But when I asked him about these accidents, I asked him about prevention, I asked him about inspections, and he said, "Of course, those mines are supposed to be inspected on a regular basis." We looked a little further into that. There was a recent 11-week review that was done on the Sago mine. More than 40 violations were found.
So Tom, as you can imagine, of course, trying to find out if those miners are still alive and getting them out of there, the next step is going to be the investigation into how this happened. And they will be looking at all those reports. All those various violations, when the inspections were done, and what could have caused this.
Now, you also heard from the news conference that they are talking about bad weather. Possibly a lightning strike could have caused this. That's being looked at, as well. So we don't know. So once again, the governor getting back on a plane. He's probably in the air right now as we speak heading back to West Virginia to attend to family members and get to the scene.
FOREMAN: Interesting and helpful information. Kyra Phillips in Atlanta, thank you so much.
Over here, you'll see we have pictures of the families that have been gathering at a local church there. We had them a moment ago. We'll get them back up in a moment here. Folks gathered as they wait for news, family, friends, co-workers, that sort of the thing, to find out a little bit more about what happened.
Again, 6:30 this morning, an explosion. Thirteen miners now unaccounted for. We're not sure where they are back in the mine. We do know that they're dealing with issues of gas in the mine and trying to get rescue teams in to dig through the debris, see if they can reach these men, find out if they have survive and to rescue them. Stick with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Much more is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: This just in. We have tornado activity in the Southeast if you can believe that on this busy news day. We bring in CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.
Jacqui, what's going on.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Tom, a tornado watch just put in effect for the Atlanta metro area right now. The south side of town, a very dangerous storm. And there are many storms to follow over the next couple of hours, a very dangerous situation unfolding. A possible tornado has been spotted about 11 miles north of the Noonan Area (ph), Riverdale, Forest Park, College Park and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport are all in the line of fire.
This storm could also possibly produce hail up to golf ball size. It's pushing up to the north and to the east at about 35 miles per hour. This warning remains in effect until 5:15 local time. There you can see the perimeter of Atlanta. Getting up right into that area right now.
Here's the core of the storm, where the possible rotation would be. So you need to be taking cover right to you. Also, a ground stop has just been issued for Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. They've been averaging delays all day long, about two hours, and this is just going to be adding insult to injury.
So a dangerous situation unfolding here. There you can see a tornado watch, which is in effect across the area throughout much of the Southeast. And we're expecting that to continue throughout the evening hours -- Tom?
FOREMAN: Thank you so much, Jacqui Jeras, going along the interstate highway there that stretches toward Montgomery, Alabama, and right at rush hour. That whole line of storms. A lot to watch as the hours pass by.
We're also watching very closely all the developments with the mining accident in West Virginia. A terrible situation there. Thirteen men from 6:30 this morning trapped below the ground. They're trying to reach them now to determine if they have survived and if they can be pulled out. We'll have much more on that. Stick with us. You are in THE SITUATION ROOM.
FOREMAN: We're bringing you all the updates on that mining accident in West Virginia, but there is other news happening, as well. Mary Snow joins us now with an update on the other stories in the news -- Mary?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tom, a student pilot and his flight instructor were rescued from the near-freeing waters of the Hudson River today. Their single-engine plane crashed into the river just north of New York City. After about 15 minutes in the water, they were rescued by police and Coast Guard helicopters. Both were conscious, but suffering from hypothermia.
At least four people are dead and three others are missing in two separate accidents in southern Germany. The deaths occurred when part of the roof of a skating rink collapsed. At least 20 people are injured. Heavy snow is slowing rescue efforts, and less than ten miles away, two men and a woman are missing in an avalanche.
Heavy snow also is hampering the relief effort in Kashmir nearly three months after an earthquakes struck the region. Millions, still, are living in tents. The weather is blocking roads and grounding relief flights, and doctors say more survivors are coming down with respiratory infections.
In Iraq, the new year has brought now let-up in violence, but there is new reason for some of the violence, and that's increasing oil prices. Protestors set fire to gas stations and the offices of at least one oil company. The increases are part of a deal with the International Monetary Fund -- Tom?
FOREMAN: Thank you so much, Mary. It's 5:00 p.m. in Washington and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where news and information from around the world arrive at one place at the same time.
Happening now, it's 5:00 p.m. in West Virginia, but rescue crews do not know if time is on their side. Right now, they're trying to save at least 13 miners trapped underground after an explosion in a coal mine. Officials say crews are already on the scene.
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