Gasping for air and running out of hope, the doomed West Virginia coal miners wrote farewell notes from the dark abyss to their loved ones.
The revelation Wednesday was small solace for relatives who were suddenly plunged into mourning after a “tragic miscommunication” that 12 of the 13 miners had been rescued sparked a short-lived celebration.
Ben Hatfield, chief executive of the mine owner, International Coal Group Inc., apologized for breaking their hearts and urged relatives who had stood vigil at the Sago Baptist Church to “celebrate the one miracle that was delivered.”
He was referring to sole survivor Randal McCloy, who was in critical condition with a collapsed lung and dehydration after being trapped for more than 42 hours.
“We sincerely regret the manner in which the events unfolded this morning,” said a visibly shaken Hatfield. “In the process of being cautious, we allowed the jubilation to go on longer than it should have.”
Hatfield said the miners’ notes were discovered when rescue crews, drawn by McCloy’s moans, found them more than 3,000 feet from the Sago Mine entrance.
“They’ll go to the families,” he said, when asked about their contents.
While the tiny coal town of Tallmansville, W.Va., braced for a series of funerals, autopsies on the dead were under way to determine what killed them.
During the rescue attempt, searchers found lethal levels of carbon monoxide in the mine.
The bodies of the miners were taken to a makeshift morgue across the street from West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon. The relatives were taken to a chapel for a service.
Rescuers found the body of one miner early Tuesday night and then stumbled across McCloy and the other miners a few hours later at 11:45 p.m.
Hatfield said it appeared that they had survived the initial blast and moved deeper into the mine to escape toxic gases. But only McCloy, who at age 27 was one of the youngest, had the stamina to survive.
To keep from raising false hopes, Hatfield said rescuers were told to refer to the miners by the code word “item” if any were found. But mistakenly believing that all the missing miners were alive, one of the excited rescuers radioed headquarters and said, “Twelve are alive!”
“There was an uproar of joy” in the control center, said Gene Kitts, vice president of International Coal Group Inc.
Within minutes, joyous miners began calling worried relatives by cell phone, and soon church bells started ringing and a party was under way.
Forty-five minutes later, Hatfield said it became clear there was only one survivor.
The mining executive still didn’t move, however, saying he was hoping the miners were simply in a coma and could be revived.
It was only when medical personnel were called to the mine and pronounced them dead that Hatfield sent word that the miracles hadn’t occurred.
“We tried to relay that through the state police contacts to the clergy (who were with the miners’ relatives); clearly, that communication did not effectively get delivered,” he said. “What would I have done differently? I would have personally gone to the church earlier and told everyone we got conflicting information.”
Instead, Hatfield waited until 2:30 a.m. before he and grieving Gov. Joe Manchin notified relatives gathered at the church.
Federal and state investigators have launched an investigation into the deadly disaster at a mine that had been cited repeatedly for workplace safety violations.
President Bush said the entire nation mourns the loss, and he saluted the rescuers “who risked their lives to save those miners for showing such courage.”
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GRAPHICS (from KRT Graphics, 202-383-6064): Miners
AP-NY-01-04-06 2052EST
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