Obama, Biden to attend memorial for miners

WASHINGTON, April 19 | Mon Apr 19, 2010 6:51pm EDT

WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama plans to attend a memorial service on Sunday for the 29 coal miners killed in a West Virginia mine blast, the White House said on Monday.

The April 5 disaster at Massey Energy's MEE.N Upper Big Branch mine was the deadliest U.S. mine accident in nearly 40 years.

Obama is to deliver a eulogy in honor of those who died. The service will be held in Beckley, West Virginia.

The president last week accused Massey Energy, the largest coal producer in the Central Appalachia mountain region, of having "put their bottom line before the safety of their workers." Massey Energy has rejected suggestions that the explosion was due to a disregard for safety.

Obama called for better mine oversight nationwide.

(Writing by Caren Bohan; Editing by Eric Beech)

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Comments (2)
SteveMD2 wrote:
Yes, a tragedy. Perhaps it wouldn’t have happened if Bush had not emasculated the various agencies which oversee mine safety.

There should be a grand jury investigation into the safety issues that led to this explosion. And if the owners were lax and ignored known dangers and regulations designed to warn of safety issues in the name of corporate profits, they should be held criminally responsible.

Apr 19, 2010 8:08pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
barbhop wrote:
Obama is going there for votes – not because he really cares – it is all political and being orchestrated by his campaign manager!!!!

Apr 19, 2010 8:56pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
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