Mine's Lone Survivor Responsive

Randal McCloy Jr., the sole survivor of an explosion that killed 12 of 13 miners, was the youngest of the group, a factor that could have contributed to his rescue, doctors said.

McCloy was in critical condition with a collapsed lung and dehydration but no sign of brain damage or carbon monoxide poisoning after being trapped for more than 42 hours, a doctor said. He is responsive — he is squeezing hands when told to do so. They say they expect to reduce his sedation tomorrow and fully awaken him.

"Youth always has its advantages," Dr. Lawrence Roberts said at a briefing Wednesday at West Virginia University's Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.

McCloy, 27, was transferred there early Wednesday from another hospital and remained in critical condition; doctors said they were hopeful because he was showing signs of brain functioning.

CBS' Aleen Sirgany

"He responds to stimuli and that's good," Roberts said at a briefing. There was no sign of carbon monoxide poisoning, he said.

Most of the other miners were in their 50s. While citing McCloy's youth, Roberts stressed he did not know the health status of the other miners.

The miners had been trapped 260 feet below the surface of the Sago Mine since an explosion early Monday. Authorities had told families late Tuesday that 12 of the 13 had survived, 41 hours after they became trapped, but officials later reversed themselves, prompting

The false information and three hours of waiting for relatives before they were told McCloy was the only survivor made the announcement even more painful, CBS News correspondent Bob Orr

Deadliest coal mining accident in West Virginia in 37 years, Orr reports.

McCloy has worked in the mines for three years, "but he was looking to get out," his wife, Anna, had said earlier as she awaited word on the miners. "It was too dangerous."

He has been taking electronics classes for some time, she said.

The McCloys have a 4-year-old son, Randal III, and 1-year-old, Isabel. The couple had met in grade school and have been together for 12 years. Said McCloy's mother, Tambra Flint: "He was just trying to make a living for his family."

Lila Muncy, McCloy's younger sister, had said that before her brother went into the mine each day he told his wife, "God is with you."

"We were always raised to have faith," she said. "I'm not going anywhere until I see my brother's face."

Charles Green, McCloy's father-in-law, told ABC's "Good Morning America" that his daughter has been able to visit with McCloy but has not been able to talk to him because of the ventilator.

"He was making noises, you know, moaning and stuff, which is a good sign," Green said.

Doctors said McCloy had little carbon monoxide in his blood and showed signs of improvement.

"He is moving and responding to stimuli and the things that we're doing,"

Roberts said McCloy suffered one collapsed lung, and remained very dehydrated. But there was no sign of broken bones or other injuries, he said.

"I'm hopeful that he can make a recovery," Roberts said.

It was the state's deadliest mining accident since November 1968, when 78 men died in an explosion at a mine in Marion County.