Weather Eyed In Md. Coal Mine Collapse

Workers found the bodies of two miners in the cabs of heavy machinery, three days after they were buried when a wall section collapsed in an open-pit coal mine.

The men appeared to have died instantly, said Bob Cornett, acting regional director for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. Their remains were found Friday beneath at least 45 feet of rocks and dirt in the battered backhoe and bulldozer.

"With the extensive damage I saw on the equipment, I don't think that we worried whether they suffocated to death," he said.

Workers spotted both pieces of equipment side by side Thursday night after removing thousands of tons of debris. The machines in the western Maryland mine were right side up but the belted tracks that propel the backhoe had been blown sideways and the blade had come off the bulldozer, Cornett said.

The MSHA identified the bulldozer operator as Mike Wilt, 37, and the backhoe operator as Dale Jones, 52.

The section of the 150-foot high wall collapsed at the Tri-Star Mining Inc. site near Barton, about 150 miles west of Baltimore.

The cause of the collapse is under investigation. Cornett said heavy rain and the ground freezing and thawing could have been factors.

The mine had no fatal injuries since at least 1995 and was not cited for violations in its most recent inspection, which began March 5, according to MSHA. It employed 51 people at the end of 2006 and produced nearly 653,000 tons of coal last year.

Wilt, 37, was married, with children and a pregnant wife, said Rick Rafferty, who grew up with Wilt and last saw him about six weeks before the accident.

Jones, 52, was a 15-year veteran coal miner. Like Wilt, he was part of a proud brotherhood of miners, coal-truck drivers and other workers in the state's shrinking coal industry.
By David Dishneau MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

[kbwilt]

I am sorry but I don't see any humor in your "satirical" comments either. I wish I was sitting at home this week watching Oprah INSTEAD of sitting at that COAL MINE waiting to hear if MY BROTHER was going to make it out ALIVE!!!! Unfortunately, HE DIDN'T so I'm SORRY I don't share your "sense of humor".

[mainemade]

I'm sorry. Rest in Peace. My sympathy to the families.

[arohanui-2009]

My sympathy to the miner's families. RIP

[jfinster10]

Ban coal mining. It is unsafe to mine and contributes heavily to our pollution problems. This country is long overdue for widespread use of clean energy sources.

[tbird20061]

I thought it juvenile. God bless those men and their families!

[lkemmler]

I Love statements like this "All we can see is a piece of it (the backhoe)," he said. "They'll have to do it slowly" to avoid further damage to the vehicle, he said. F... the vehicle, rescue the people!!!

[sero5]

As long as there is a demand for coal, there will be people willing to trade in their health and safety to do coal mining.

[minerwife62]

Sorry to say, but I feel you are the one who doesn't get it. This is a time for everyone to support the families of the two who were trapped, not a time to make satirical comments. If you want to make comments about government, do so elsewhere.

[minerwife62]

To Veteran71...As a wife of a coal miner, I think you should refrain from making comments about things which you obviously know nothing about. All jobs have hazzards of some kind. Should we eliminate airplanes and automobiles because of crashes? Instead of making comments like you did, maybe you should instead say a prayer for the families of those who are huting.

[mainemade]

Here is hoping they are okay.
This mine seems to have a good safety record. Hopefully they can rescue the men and figure out what happened to make a wall that big come down. Something definately went wrong.