W. Viriginia town in shock with news 12 miners dead, not alive

[trevster2k]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/01/03/miners-trapped-060103.html

Now this is just unbelievable. Tragedy strikes these people, and then they get a kick in the stomach on top of that. Utterly astonishing.

Some woman came out of the church with her kids and told Anderson Cooper live on CNN who was reporting about the 12 survivors at the time. She told him that everything has been a mixup and misinformation. These people went from euphoria to sadness to anger with a couple of hours. I imagine it would make you physically ill to go through something this stunning.

CNN showed NY newspapers and USA Today with the headline 'ALIVE - W. VA Miracle", even the newspapers are involved in having to correct their reports.

I'm going to bed shaking my head over this.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Ohhhh, man, I feel so bad for those people. I remember hearing on the news earlier that they'd survived...so awful to have such a change in the news like that .

Those poor families. What a letdown.

 

[AchtungBono]

OMG....*stunned*

I was watching Fox News live this morning and Geraldo Rivera was ecstatic and reporting about this miracle and the newscaster's eyes in the studio were glistening with tears of joy.

I was so happy to hear this news and then all of a sudden to hear that this horrible tragedy happened....

My heart goes out to those poor families...may G-d bless them and give them solace at this horrible time.\\

 

[Lila64]

I've been watching CNN for the last 30 minutes. Tragic, just tragic

 

[karls77]

This is so tragic. It looks like it's a case of someone desperate to spread good news and jumping the gun. I bet that person feels really shit now.........

 

[Lila64]

and they had 3 hours leeway where they could have said, WAIT, we're not sure and we cannot confirm this information

 

[AchtungBono]

and they had 3 hours leeway where they could have said, WAIT, we're not sure and we cannot confirm this information

I have no doubt that heads will roll over this......

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I am stunned, last I heard last night they had found one man dead and were still searching.

I can't begin to imagine what those families went through, it is the cruelest thing possible. How could that "miscommunication" happen? How on earth could that possibly happen?

 

[Justin24]

I was shocked. Last night before going to sleep I read that 12 were alive. I wake up to find that the mine officials said they were dead and that there was a miscommunication. Even after a nurse described each of their conditions.

 

[Sherry Darling]

I am certain I remember hearing a reporter on CNN last night mention, almost in passing, that the mine had failed safety inspections. Any one else recall this? Or see it in an article?

I'm horrified for the families.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Yes that mine has a terrible safety record

 

[Irvine511]

I am certain I remember hearing a reporter on CNN last night mention, almost in passing, that the mine had failed safety inspections. Any one else recall this? Or see it in an article?

yes. i heard the same thing on NPR as i was trying to rouse myself this morning. if memory serves (and this was well before coffee, so you never know), the mine had specifically failed tests for ventillation and adequate escape routes.

this is so awful.

and to be even more pessimistic, it would be a miracle if that one survivor isn't completely brain dead due to lack of oxygen.

 

[nbcrusader]

I am certain I remember hearing a reporter on CNN last night mention, almost in passing, that the mine had failed safety inspections. Any one else recall this? Or see it in an article?

I'm horrified for the families.

The specific news I heard yesterday was that the mine had failed inspections in scrubbing the air for coal dust.




The miscommunication of news made this tragedy much worse. How can a nurse describe the condition of 12 "living" people who are dead?

 

[Maggie1]

Sending my prayers their way.

 

[sharky]

What a mess. That being said, could you imagine being the family of the one that survived? That would be hard for me to think about as well -- how come your family survived when everyone else's died? Tragedy all around. And what's worse is that they said the miners were alive and built a rough barricade after the explosion and did what they were supposed to do in that situation -- time just ran out.

 

[wizard2c]

reply

I can't understand why there was not an official spokesperson for the mining company..........you don't take peoples' lives for granted on "heresay" alone. Until you have a definitive determination of the trapped miners...that's when an official announcement should be made to the media and the families involved.

 

[the rockin edge]

that's awful

 

[U2democrat]

 

[BluRmGrl]

Wonder if the money saved on NOT addressing health & safety issues will cover the money paid out on the imminent lawsuits?

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

here's an article about the safety problems

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10706084/

 

[VertigoGal]

oh my god...I thought they'd survived

 

[deep]

This is terrible for everybody.

Mining is one of the most dangerous professions.


There will be a lot of secong guessing.

If the inspectors had shut this place down

i wonder if these same families would have been protesting an over reaching protectionist agency taking away their livlihoods?

We will never know.

I don't blame the owner for the error in reporting.

Aside from the victims loved ones.

He will suffer the most.

How can a nurse describe the condition of 12 "living" people who are dead?

maybe they got Terri Shivo's nurse?

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

 

[trevster2k]

The most tragic aspect of this tragedy is the emotional roller coaster the families had to suffer.

As deep said mining is dangerous work, and these accidents happen but to put it in perspective, US mining is relatively accident free compared to other countries, China has over 5000 mining deaths per year on average.

And many companies talk about safety being number one, but in reality all they care about is the shareholders, not the employees. Safety is a legislated requirement for companies, they only comply because they are legally required to do so. They are covering their asses so to speak. Production is the number one priority for these companies. They will deny this but just ask the employees, any manufacturing or production industry is under great pressure to hit the numbers which leads to shortcuts and injuries.

 

[verte76]

Horrible, just horrible. I'm not surprised that the place flunked safety inspections. The company just wants the Almighty Buck Mining is not a safe occupation but there's no excuse for not following the safety guidelines.

 

[Irvine511]

is this what happens when coal executives spend lots of money on Republican politicians? looser regulatory and safety regimes? at what cost? how many lives must big business shatter?



[q]Coal executives, threatened by Vice President Al Gore's green background and his pledge to increase taxes on fossil fuels, thought they could get a better deal with the Republicans — when they raised a record $3.8 million dollars for the 2000 federal election, 88 percent went to the GOP. At the annual meeting of the West Virginia Coal Association a few months after Bush's inauguration, the group's director told 150 industry executives, “You did everything you could to elect a Republican president. [Now] you are already seeing in his actions the payback.”

....Bush also demonstrated his friendship to industry leaders when he awarded the top job at MSHA to an executive with Utah's Energy West Mining Company, David Lauriski, whose top two deputies would also be recruited from mining companies. The woman who would become their boss, Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, is the wife of Kentucky's Republican senator Mitch McConnell, a long time political ally of coal companies.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0501.bingham.html

[/q]

 

[nbcrusader]

 

[deep]

I can recommend a local specialist to treat your blepharospasm.

 

[Irvine511]

 

[nbcrusader]

Ah, yes. Back to the childish pictures. Perhaps we can move beyond the hyperbole, the cliche arguments and political talking points and actually discuss the facts of the issue.

You're 2 for 2 on this story already, taking shots at Christianity (in your journal) and Republicans here.