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CNN Live Today

Tragedy At Sago Mine; Sole Survivor From Sago Mine; CNN Pipeline; Avoiding Financial Disaster Tips

Aired January 04, 2006 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks for joining us.
Let's get right to Daryn Kagan in Atlanta.

Daryn.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Soledad, thank you.

Our coverage continues here as we talk about the hope that turned to despair in the mountains of West Virginia. Now people want to know why. For three hours family and friends were led to believe that their loved ones were safe, only to be shocked with the news that only one miner survived for nearly two days underground. We have extensive coverage over the next few hours here on CNN LIVE TODAY with live reports ahead from the church where the victims' loved ones gathered, the Sago Mine where the tragic scene played out, and the hospital where the lone survivor receives medical attention. All this and more ahead.

First, let's take a quick look at other stories happening right "Now in the News."

It is another day of widespread violence in Iraq. Authorities outside of Baquba say a suicide bomber apparently blended into a funeral procession and detonated an explosive vest. At least three dozen people were killed. Another 40 wounded. Meanwhile, in Southern Baghdad, a car bomb killed three people, including a police commando. Six other commandos were among the 11 people wounded. And between Baghdad and an oil refinery, gunmen destroyed 20 fuel tankers in two separate attacks. One driver is dead, the fate of the 19 others is unknown at this time.

President Bush is at the Pentagon this morning where he's conferring with the top commanders on Iraq. Mr. Bush will meet with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the joint chiefs of staff. He'll also talk to his top U.S. commander in Iraq via video link. Next hour, Mr. Bush is scheduled to make a statement about the war on terror and we will have live coverage.

Earlier this morning in Southern Germany, rescue workers pulled three more bodies from the rubble of a collapsed skating rink. Police say the latest victims were two boys and a girl. In all, 14 people are confirmed dead. A 35-year-old woman remains missing.

Good morning. I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. We are devoting much of this hour to the tragedy at the Sago Mine in West Virginia. It has been a devastating turn of events for the families and friends of those trapped miners. Just before midnight, relatives reacted joyously to word that 11 of the 12 miners were found alive. But three hours later, those same family members were crushed by the news that, in fact, only one miner survived. And that survivor, Randal McCloy, Jr., is now hospitalized. He is listed in critical condition.

The initial report that 11 of the 12 miners were alive came in as many east coast and national newspapers were printing their morning editions. It is a dark irony to read those headlines now as we look at them. You can see "USA Today," "12 Miners Found Alive." Here in Atlanta, the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution," big bold letters, "12 Miners Alive."

How did this go wrong and what is the truth? We want to take to back now to CNN's coverage of that initial report through the time that it was discounted.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have some breaking news. We do not know exactly what is going on here in Upshur County. They are ringing the bells of the church. This is the first time that has occurred. We heard some shouting over at the church. You're a friend of Terry Helms. Terry was -- what have you heard?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just come out (INAUDIBLE) said we've got 12 alive. That's good news.

COOPER: And where did you -- who told you that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just come out of my house (ph) and sent an official down and said we've got 12 alive.

COOPER: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Charlie. Charlie, we've got to come back. Come back to us. Wait. Come here. What's happening?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's only one -- there's only one made it out alive. I think the name was Randal Ware (ph). The governor's in there and this big in charge CEO of the mine is apologizing. And it's all -- they did nothing but -- I don't know how this information could come out that this -- there were people alive.

COOPER: Where have . . .

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's one person alive and he's en route to the hospital.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody is stunned right now. Everybody is stunned and sickened to their stomach. We feel like we've been lied to. Feel like we've been lied to all along. I don't even know if the governor knew the truth or not. I think he's here. I think that he has done everything he could. And I don't even know if they told him the truth or not.

BEN HATFIELD, PRESIDENT & CEO, INTERNATIONAL COAL GROUP INC.: What happened is that through stray cell phone conversations it appears that this miss communication from the rescue team underground to the command center was picked up by various people that simply overheard the conversation, was relayed through cell phone communications without our ever having made a release. International Coal Group never made any release about all 12 of the miners being alive and well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It had to be a miss communication, misinterpretation, something. I don't think that anyone would have said if something was different than what they found.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Finally they come. Mr. Hatfield, the CEO of the mines, he'd say he didn't know nothing. Finally he come up and he said they was all living. He even give us the directions of how he was bringing them in. He was going to take the emergency car, go up and get them. He was going to bring them to the church, to the families. Not only my family, but all families. And he was supposed to come back within an hour. He come back three hours later with news that they're gone. That there is no survivors. We want to know why and how people can get by with this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Well, the head of the ming company, Ben Hatfield, says he understands the anger of family members. The company and the federal government are launching investigations into the accident. And we do expect to hear more from Ben Hatfield later this morning. You'll see those comments live here on CNN.

Meanwhile, let's go back to West Virginia. Our Miles O'Brien outside the Sago Baptist Church where the miners' families had kept vigil.

Miles, hello.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, it was a scene of really chaos and confusion and then, as word first rippled through here right around the midnight hour, right here at the Sago Baptist Church, you know, there were 500 people crowded in here. And this is where -- this became kind of a nexus of information, as well as an emotional focus as well to the families as they gathered to kind of get through this 40 -- at that point a 41 hour ordeal. And the word came in, best we can determine, it was based on an erroneous communication from the rescue workers under the ground to the command post. For whatever reason, imprecise communication, bad communication, whatever the case may be, given the fact that they're 260 feet below the surface, we can understand that.

But what happened after that, is apparently there was a phone call, a cell phone call probably, that went right into this church here, one of the 500 people, and off went the rumor like wild fire. What apparently buttressed that was shortly thereafter someone, who we haven't been able to identify yet, came up on the stage and the pulpit and said, they're going to be coming in here, they're going to feed them, clean them up and bring them right in here for you, your 12 loved ones. You'll be able to embrace them.

We've talked to several people inside and they describe what happened next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYNETTE ROBY, LOCAL RESIDENT: It was scary. It was like a mob scene. I mean, but once the people started losing it, everybody was charging forward and we immediately went out and then, you know, it was just -- I guess the news knew nothing about it.

And what doesn't seem fair is, sure, there might have been this "miss communication error," but why did it get broadcasted all over the world? Why didn't somebody stop it. When we came in they were sing "Amazing Grace" right here in front of the church and "I'll Fly Away." You know, for three hours, put everyone through this. It's unbelievable how -- I mean, where's the compassion in that. And that went on for three hours.

Children, young children, obviously, young children just -- you know, it's a small community. How could this -- how could nobody have compassion to say, just hold on for a minute. Something -- there's an error and the survivor or something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MILES O'BRIEN: And here's the real rub, Daryn. At command post, when they first got that bad piece of communication, they too celebrated. But about 20 minutes later, after some more communication with those down below, they realize the error of that initial communication.

What they did was, they spent the next couple, three hours, trying to figure out precisely who was alive and who was dead. And in that course of time, never said anything to anyone over here to set the record straight. And so, as a result, that bad information that all of them were alive was allowed to stay out there for much longer than it needed to be. So when the company talks a little bit later today, I would expect a lot of questions about that and why they didn't sort of dampen that enthusiasm a little bit earlier.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Clearly a painful situation made even worse by the bad communication.

Miles, thank you. Miles O'Brien live in West Virginia.

Well, there's word that the sole survivor in this mining accident wanted to quit his job. Anna McCloy says that her husband, Randal, told her the work was to dangerous. Twenty-seven-year-old Randal McCloy, Jr., has been working in the mines for three years. Half of that time has been at this Sago Mine. He met his wife in grade school. They have two children, a four-year-old boy and a one-year- old girl. McCloy is a licensed electrician but family member say he can make more money in the mines. Randal McCloy right now at West Virginia University Hospital in Morgantown. He is listed in critical condition.

CNN's Joe Johns is outside the hospital with an update on McCloy's condition.

Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, the hospital says he is responding to stimuli, breathing on his own. He does have a collapsed lung, but we're told there is no sign of brain damage. However, he has been sedated as they try to help him out through this. There was a news conference just a little while ago. The director of the trauma center here at West Virginia University spoke. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. LARRY ROBERTS, RUBY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: He is moving and responding so to stimuli and to things that we're doing. And most of the time, we then resedated him to protect him and to allow us to do what we need to do at the moment. Obviously, we'll stop doing that at some point when we deem it safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: So Randal McCloy, 27 years old, the father of two children. A lot of people here in West Virginia, of course, hoping and pulling for him. At the same time, there's certainly some authorities that would like to talk to him to try to figure out what he has to say about what happened down there in the mine. Of course, that will have to wait.

Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Joe Johns live at the hospital. Thank you for that.

Well, if Randal McCloy is able to survive this terrible ordeal, what kind of recovery will he face? Our Senior Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins me now with that.

Sanjay, the injuries that this young man, and he is the youngest of all the miners, faces, what do you think's the most serious?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, all we can tell so far is sort of a process of elimination. He's had significant dehydration. He's had a lot of exposure, obviously, just from being in the mine for 40 hours. But he doesn't appear to have had a significant brain injury. I was sort of expecting that based on the sort of level of sort of minimal consciousness he was displaying when he went into the first hospital.

The brain scan so far appears to be normal. And I say so far because some abnormalities can actually show up a couple of days later. One thing I'll point out, and people are sort of leaning this, is that carbon monoxide poisoning can sort of mimic a stroke a couple of days later. He might have stroke-like symptoms. Noone's saying that he has that now. But he's too sedated to really be able to tell. But if it's just the dehydrated and just the exposure, he should start to get better significantly (INAUDIBLE).

KAGAN: And his relatively young state, he's 27 years old, certainly would help him in recovery there.

GUPTA: Yes. And you know what's interesting as well, is some of these miners are in their 50s and 60s. When you put, you know, people who are relatively healthy in extreme conditions who are a little bit older, sometimes natural causes take over. And what I mean by that is that, when they do the autopsies on some of these folks, if the families choose to do that, they might find, in fact, heart attacks were the cause of death in some of these folks. So that's another possibly as well. Not as likely in a 27-year-old.

KAGAN: With this young man, they said there was no carbon monoxide in his system. Does that surprise you?

GUPTA: Well, I've been following this all night and it actually went down like this. The first hospital said there was no carbon monoxide. The second hospital, the university hospital where he is now, said in fact there was carbon monoxide and it was decreasing at the time that he got to the West Virginia university hospital. So that didn't make sense to me the first time I heard that, that he would have no carbon monoxide in his blood given the high levels in the mine. It turns out he probably did but it was decreasing and it was relatively easily treated in his case.

KAGAN: And then the dehydration. Sounds like he's responding well to that. Easy treatment there.

GUPTA: Yes. Just getting fluids. Joe Johns just mentioned that one of his lungs was deflated. I thought that was significant, Daryn, because it takes quit a bit of a force to actually cause your lung to deflate. So at some point in there, maybe at the time of the explosion or some point -- some other time, he must have had some sort of force on his body to do that.

KAGAN: All right. We will be watching it. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you.

GUPTA: Thank you.

KAGAN: You can find extensive coverage on the mine disaster on our Web site. We have video of comments from the mining company's CEO, angry reactions from relatives of the dead, and updates on the sole survivor. Click on cnn.com. And for our CNN Pipeline subscribers, you can follow live coverage on CNN Pipeline as well.

Much more coverage ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY on this story. We're going to hear from the friends and relatives of the victims who are pleading to know what happened and what was the deal with this misinformation? How did it get out and why did it take so long before the information was corrected? (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I'm not kin to none of those people under that hill over there, but each and every one of them's a brother to me. Each and every one of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY.

A live picture there from West Virginia. We are awaiting a news conference with Ben Hatfield, the CEO of the mining company that owns the mine where this tragedy has taking place. We expect that to begin in about 15 minutes. And when it does, you'll see it live here on CNN.

Meanwhile, let's get some other news in here today.

A red flag warning is in effect for much of Texas today. That is difficult news and challenging news for firefighters. The National Weather Service says a dry cold front is moving into Texas hill country right now and that it will support extreme wildfire behavior. Firefighters received the majority of grass fires -- actually, they've gotten them under -- in the state under control. Since Sunday, 115 homes have burned in that state. In Oklahoma, authorities say, a new grass fire set by an arsonist hopscotched across one town yesterday, damaging several structures but no injuries were reported.

People in Northern California continue their cleanup from the mud and they're trying to access the damage from severe flooding over the weekend but at least the real danger has passed. State officials say that all rivers have dropped to below flood levels. Damage is estimated to be more than $300 million. Two deaths are blamed on the weekend storms. Napa and Sonoma Counties were among the hardest hit. Local officials there say about 600 homes and 150 businesses suffered major flood damage in the city of Napa alone. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared states of emergency in 23 counties.

From flooding to heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada. There were several avalanches yesterday, shutting down Highway 395. That is the main north/south route along the Eastern Sierra. Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort closed after reporting three feet of snow overnight.

Jacqui Jeras is looking at all the weather across the country.

Hi, Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Well, while you're out there working today, you can stay on top of the news with CNN's new on-demand video service. It is called CNN Pipeline. Just a click of the mouse and you can revolutionize the way you get your news online. CNN's Melissa Long explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA LONG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even if you've watched video content before on your desktop, you're going to be surprised by what you see on CNN Pipeline.

Imagine an online news service all commercial free with multiple live feeds. Well, that's what you get when you log onto CNN Pipeline. With four live news streams, Pipeline allows you to choose from a variety of live events. But it can also provide multiple angels of the same developing story.

These are raw feeds coming into CNN, so you see events as they happen with limited anchor interruption.

In addition, a quick search function allows you to browse an archive of CNN content available on demand, putting the vast resources of CNN at your fingertips. You make the decision of what you want to watch, when you want to watch it.

CNN Pipeline is providing you with an entirely new window on the world. So log onto cnn.com/pipeline for more information.

Melissa Long, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And here's what's on tap for the next hour on Pipeline. At 11:00 a.m. Eastern, the final prehearing reports on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. At 11:35, Pipeline will air President Bush's statement on terrorism live. We'll also bring you the presidents remarks live here on CNN LIVE TODAY. And the noon Eastern, Pipeline with air the United Nations daily briefing and you'll see that live.

We are looking for a number of live events here as well. Ben Hatfield, the CEO of the mining company that owns the mine where the tragedy took place over the last couple of days, he will be holding a news conference. We will be listening in to that.

Also, for your financial health. Just ahead, Gerri Willis will have "Top Five Tips" on how you can avoid some financial disasters over this next year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The markets have been open 55 minutes. They are steady and climbing. The Dow, as you can see, is up 25 point. The Nasdaq, on a percentage basis, up even more. It is up over 15 points.

Let's talk about the path to your financial security in 2006. It could be paved, at least in part, from cautionary tales gleaned from some of the disasters from 2005. Our Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis joins us with her "Top Five Tips" on how to avoid financial ruins. Some very basic precautions that we can take. Good morning.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Good to see you.

Tip number one. You know, 2005 was the very worst year ever for identity theft. Lots of thieves out there getting smarter and smarter about how to steal your personal information. Because of that, if you got a laptop or a PC this year for Christmas, you're going to want to be very smart when you throw away the old one. You've got to erase that hard drive because it contains all kinds of personal information that thieves could use to steal your identity. Go to pcworld.com to get free, yes, I said free software, that will help you erase that data on your PC so you can throw it away safely.

KAGAN: Very good point.

What about protecting your credit rating?

WILLIS: Well, you know, there are surprising ways that you can hurt your credit rating these days. Listen to this. Libraries are making sure that they turn over files of late fine payers to collection agencies who are coming after these people, believe it or not, for turning in your books late. And this could steal 100 points from your credit score.

Now the interesting thing here, we talked to one of these collection agencies, Daryn, you've got to hear this, and they said that they have access to your name, your address, your Social Security Number, and they told us we don't hang on to the names of the books that you're late with because, you know, that would invade your privacy.

KAGAN: Oh, yes, we wouldn't want to have that, no, absolutely not.

WILLIS: Crazy.

KAGAN: Other ways to protect yourself. You can have a little slush fund to the side. Or maybe a large slush fund.

WILLIS: You need a slush fund. You have to have an emergency fund for those unfortunate disasters that are always popping up. Three to six months of enough money to cover your basics. Whether it's your rent, your mortgage, food, utilities. All the things that you pay each and every month, you got to have it. And remember, you know, we're seeing these wildfires on the West Coast here, Daryn. You also want to make sure that you have a safe place to store all of your documents. You want a fireproof or a waterproof chest that can hold onto this stuff no matter what happens to your house.

KAGAN: And that brings us to the idea of insurance and protecting not just your home, your car, your life and your health as well.

WILLIS: Well, you know, last year gas prices went through the roof. I know you know that.

KAGAN: I do.

WILLIS: A lot of people are carpooling, which makes a lot of sense, but you don't think about, what does this mean for my insurance? Well, guess what, if you're doing that, you need to raise your liability insurance. Contact your insurance agents to find out what you need to do. Carpooling is great, but be safe doing it.

KAGAN: And, finally there, your last tip, protect your family time as well.

WILLIS: Yes, I think this is something that's just nice to do. You know, everybody's making claims on your time. Whether it's your boss or your friends, you've got to protect that family time. Think about maybe working from home.

One place to go for help in making that case to your boss, whenworkworks.org is a great Web site to check out. Also think about maybe just doing those web searches a little faster. Anywhere that you can spend a little less time with work and a little more time with family makes sense. Google.com, a great place to go.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Gerri Willis, thank you for the tips for a healthy new year financially. Thank you.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

KAGAN: Let's go ahead and check what's happening right "Now in the News."

The man's whose indictment had sent shivers across corners of Capitol Hill heads to court today. Jack Abramoff is due in federal court in Miami to plead guilty in a casino fraud case. The hearing comes a day after the lobbyist pleaded guilty to other charges in Washington. As part of an agreement with prosecutors, Abramoff will cooperate in a congressional influence peddling case.

President Bush's re-election campaign is giving up $6,000 in campaign contribution that are linked to Abramoff.

Concerns over natural gas shortages in Europe are easing today. Russian and Ukranian officials have reached an agreement over the price of natural gas. A price dispute has lead Russia to turn off the taps to its neighbor this week. That prompted a reduction in gas supplies to other European nations. Europe is in the midst of one of its coldest winters in years.

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