Miner: 'Somebody Screwed Up'

Answers are what's wanted in coal mining country right now.

"Somebody screwed up down the line and we don't know who, but we're going to find out," says rescued Quecreek miner Thomas Foy of the accident that trapped him and eight other miners in a freezing, flooded underground hell for 77 hours. He also says he'll never go underground again.

"It's something that happened that shouldn't have happened, but it did," says Dennis Hall, another of the nine men rescued on Sunday.

A retired miner said Monday the map that mislead miners into danger was deliberately misdrawn to hide mining improprieties - and a state official said the 89-year-old's theory is entirely plausible.

State mine officials have described underground maps as notoriously sketchy, and are now reviewing operations at 34 other Pennsylvania mines that are located next to abandoned mines to determine whether changes are warranted.

Gov. Mark Schweiker said Monday that a special state commission will examine mine safety and recommend changes to prevent accidents like the one that trapped nine men in a flooded coal mine for more than three days.

"Our first step is to understand exactly what happened," Schweiker said.

The miners became trapped 240 feet underground Wednesday night after they broke through the wall of the flooded adjacent mine that their maps showed to be 300 feet away. The accident released a torrent of water that cut off their only escape route and pinned them in an air bubble until rescue crews bored a hole and plucked them out early Sunday.

Retired miner Joseph Jashienski said the map of the abandoned mine, the Saxman, was wrong because of improper mining techniques used the day before it was abandoned.

Jashienski, 89, said the now-defunct Saxman Coal and Coke Co. gathered all the coal it could that day by using a machine to carve out a large space in the shape of a baseball diamond. He said the now-deceased mine superintendent who made the map left that detail out.

"He didn't want anybody to know he made a ballfield the last day of work," said Jashienski, who declined to identify the manager. "If you put on the map that you made a ballfield, the state inspector is going to wonder what you are doing."

Scott Roberts, the head of the mineral resource management division of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said he wasn't aware of Jashienski's claim but said it sounded valid.

"Those type of things happen," Roberts said. "I wouldn't dispute what he said a bit. If he mined in it, he's firsthand information."

Richard Stickler, director of the state Bureau of Deep Mine Safety, said maps will be a key focus of a joint state-federal investigation.

"You rely on those maps as being accurate and safe," said Dave Lauriski, assistant secretary for the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Five of the rescued miners held a news conference Monday and thanked the public for supporting them throughout their ordeal. Some said they were disappointed they hadn't been contacted by the mining company that sent them underground.

"I haven't heard from them," said Blaine Mayhugh, 31. "Haven't got a phone call or a visit from them."

A spokesman for Black Wolf Coal Co., which operates the Quecreek Mine, declined to respond to the comment.

Three of the men sat in wheelchairs and the others stood behind them. There were smiles and laughs, and they recalled their relief when a corned beef sandwich and some soda turned up in Dennis Hall's lunch box.

"One guy took a bite and passed it around," said Foy. "I figured we were good for another couple days."

Foy isn't the only one who won't be returning to work underground.

His son-in-law, Mayhugh, is among those who is hanging up his miner's hat for good.

"I don't know if too many of us will go back to what we did do," said Randy Fogle, 43, a wad of chewing tobacco in his cheek. "It put our families through a lot; it was hard on us and it was I think harder on them."

Only Fogle is still in the hospital, with what is described as a bad case of heartburn - but doctors say none of the men appear to have suffered serious injuries.

Rescued miner John Phillippi went to the mine Monday, but not to work. With his wife, Michelle, he watched as crews dismantled equipment used during the 77-hour rescue effort. Phillippi, who did not speak to reporters, shook hands with all the workers as a steady stream of visitors showed up nearby.

"With so much negativity and uncertainty since September 11th, it's nice to see something come out well," said Craig Ostheim, 47.

Russell Dumire, a surgeon at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center where six of the miners were treated, said they all were at risk of post-traumatic stress and suggested they take time off.

For the 48-year-old Hall, who has been mining since he got out of high school 30 years ago, his mind is already made up: He's going back to work.

"It's inevitable. Everybody's got to work," he said. "I love my job."