Sago Mine Boss: Lightning Caused Blast

An explosion that killed 12 workers at the Sago Mine likely was caused by a massive lightning strike that ignited methane gas in a sealed-off area, the mine's owner said Tuesday.

The company's own investigation turned up three pieces of compelling evidence of a lightning strike, all from 6:26 a.m. on Jan. 2, said Ben Hatfield, chief executive officer of International Coal Group Inc.

He said weather monitors confirmed an unusually large and powerful lightning strike near the mine; the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed a seismic event at Sago; and the mine's own atmospheric monitoring system signaled a combustion alarm.

The precise route the electrical charge followed remains under investigation, but Hatfield said there is no evidence that a nearby gas well contributed to the explosion.

Hatfield broke the news to miners' families in a series of private meetings Tuesday, and Sago workers were to be briefed Tuesday night as they returned to work. The coal mine is set to resume production Wednesday.

"While our independent investigation is certainly not the final word on the explosion, we are confident that the joint federal-state investigation will reach a similar conclusion," Hatfield said. "We are pleased that we can get our Sago employees back to work with the knowledge that the explosion was an unpredictable and highly unusual accident."

The explosion trapped a crew of 13 men more than 250 feet underground for more than 40 hours. By the time rescue teams reached them, all but one had perished, most slowly succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning. Survivor Randal L. McCloy Jr. is still recovering from severe brain damage and other injuries.

Although the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration declared the mine safe to re-enter last week, Hatfield said he delayed resuming production until he could share the initial findings with the families.

Hatfield said reactions ranged from anger and frustration to relief. Mainly, though, families appreciated getting the information before it was released to the media or the general public.

He said he promised the families that lessons will be learned from the disaster, and coal mines will be made safer.

Though MSHA cited the mine for 208 violations in the months before the accident, the company's investigation showed that none of those violations was related to the blast, Hatfield said. Still, the company expects to be under the microscope.

"Frankly, we welcome that scrutiny," he said. "We have worked hard to address all concerns and are confident that we will provide a safe working environment for our miners."

Ashland, Ky.-based ICG has aided state and federal officials throughout the Sago probe but also hired outside consultants to do an independent investigation.

Hatfield said the team concluded the explosion occurred behind 40-inch-thick, dense foam block seals that were designed to withstand 20 pounds per square inch of pressure. The seals, called Omega blocks, were pulverized by a blast that initial calculations suggest had forces of at least three times that amount in some locations.

Hatfield told The Associated Press on Tuesday that ICG will no longer install seals at the Sago Mine and will ventilate existing sealed areas with boreholes to the surface. In time, the company hopes to adopt a technology used in some other mining countries —pumping nitrogen into the abandoned areas to make them inert.

"That's something we're going to take a hard look at," he said, adding that the inert gas technology also could be used at other ICG mines.

Historically, the industry has believed seals were the safest way to manage abandoned areas, Hatfield said. When the areas are not walled off, a fire boss must be sent in periodically to confirm it is being ventilated and deadly or explosive gases are not gathering.

Hatfield also said Sago will comply as quickly as possible with federal regulations enacted last week. Companies now must give each miner an extra air pack and, in some cases, store additional breathing devices along escape routes. Coal companies also must ensure miners have clearly marked "lifelines" along all escape routes.

Hatfield said ICG has obtained enough air packs to comply but is still working on meeting the lifeline requirement. The company is able to notify authorities of any future accidents within 15 minutes as required by a new state mine-safety law.

ICG bought the Sago Mine near Buckhannon from bankrupt Anker West Virginia Mining Co. last March. The operation has been producing coal since September 1999 and had 145 employees at the time of the accident.

After his brief visit home, McCloy returned to the HealthSouth Mountainview Regional Rehabilitation Hospital, where he is going through months of therapy to recover from brain damage and other injuries.

The coal miner's wife, Anna, had refused to return to the family home in Simpson, staying at the hospital or a nearby hotel, until her husband could go with her.

On Tuesday, he made the 45-minute drive with Anna, their two children and brother-in-law Rick McGee, said family spokeswoman Aly Goodwin Gregg.

"It was wonderful, and he was so happy to be home. She was so happy to be home. But what was most telling was how happy those babies were to be home and be in their own space," Gregg said.

The couple has a 4-year-old son and 16-month-old daughter.

The 26-year-old coal miner does remember "some things in bits and pieces" abut the explosion that left him with brain damage and other injuries, his wife Anna told The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm earlier this month. But Anna has shielded him from news coverage and has not told him that he was the only one to make it out alive — that his friends perished.

"When he wants to talk about it, I listen to him, but I don't push him and I don't question him," Anna told Storm.

McCloy was able to walk into his house Tuesday with help from hospital staff. "Anna's mother created this feast, and Randy ate like a horse," Gregg said.