Investigators begin grim task at mine

TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. — As the victims' families prepared for the first of the funerals, officials worked Friday to purge the Sago Mine of poisonous gases and allow investigators to determine what sparked the blast and how the miners spent their final hours.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) appointed an eight-person team to investigate Monday's blast that killed one miner immediately and left 12 trapped more than two miles inside. One miner was alive when the group was found nearly 42 hours later.

Investigators said they are looking into all possibilities, including that lightning ignited naturally occurring methane or coal dust.

911 transcript

An excerpt of 911 radio traffic with emergency workers Tuesday night when it was believed 12 trapped coal miners were found alive:

11:48 p.m.

VOICE 1: "7472."

VOICE 2: "Go ahead, Matt."

VOICE 1: "You might as well just stand still right where you're at, Gary. They did find them, and they're all OK, I guess, so, I think we might be transporting them. I'm not exactly sure, but we're stuck right here."

VOICE 1: "10-4, Matt."

11:54 p.m.

VOICES: (inaudible)

VOICE 1: "And what am I telling them?"

VOICE 2: (inaudible) "Twelve, and they're bringing them out."

VOICE 1: "And they're all alive."

VOICE 2: "Uh, as far as I know (inaudible)."

The Associated Press

"I've heard those theories, but we have no concrete evidence one way or another," said Bob Friend, MSHA's acting deputy assistant secretary of labor for mine safety.

The investigation will also involve interviews with dozens of people, including the approximately 13 miners who escaped and managers, Friend said.

The sole survivor's recollections could prove crucial. But Randal McCloy Jr., 26, was believed to have brain damage from oxygen deprivation and remained in a medically induced coma Friday at the Pittsburgh hospital where he was moved a day earlier to receive intensive oxygen treatments.

In hopes of jogging McCloy back to consciousness, his wife, Anna, said she planned to play the music of one his favorite bands, Metallica.

She said she has told their children — Randal III, 4, and Isabel, 14 months — that "Daddy worked very long hours and that he had to rest."

The investigation also will look at the miscommunication from rescuers inside the mine, reflected in the 911 tapes, that led relatives and the rest of the world to believe for three hours their loved ones had survived.